


Would You Let Me Touch Your Soul Forever?

by Asellas



Series: Life Eternal [1]
Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Abuse of the Latin language, Age Difference, Angst, Cultural Differences, Death, Ghouls are not human, Heat Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Knotting, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Rarepair, Rituals, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, abusive behaviors, an excuse for an excessive amount of worldbuilding, language barriers, past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 08:16:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20654045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asellas/pseuds/Asellas
Summary: As a newly summoned ghoul, Rain has trouble with adapting to life on Earth, most notably communication. Omega takes it upon himself to offer help, taking the water ghoul under his wing. However, the closer they become, they find that things are not quite what they seem...Written for the Ghost BC Big Bang 2019 event!





	1. A Summoning

**Author's Note:**

> 3 Months or so of work and here we are! Welcome to rarepair hell my friends, please enjoy your stay with me :3  
Many thanks to everyone that has helped me out with this fic, including (but not limited to):  
[Theproblematiclife](https://theproblematiclife.tumblr.com/) for being my beta, personal Omega muse, and yelling at me to stop playing Stardew Valley and write. Also letting me throw in a cameo of her OC, Sister Nora a bit. 💙💙💙  
[Copias-gloves](https://copias-gloves.tumblr.com/) for also beta'ing. 💙💙💙  
[Angrymintleaf](https://angrymintleaf.tumblr.com/) for being my artist and catching some more written errors for me. 💙💙💙  
[Ask-the-clergy-bc](https://ask-the-clergy-bc.tumblr.com/) for letting me soundboard ideas off them and screech about random shit that I wasn't sure whether to write or not. 💙💙💙  
My husband, for not getting angry that I spent the last 2 weeks before the deadline basically ignoring everything besides work, school, and this fic to get it done, and encouraging my bad habits. And making me tea. 💙💙💙  
And many others, I could not have done it without you all! Thank you so much!! 💙💙💙
> 
> Thank you for all comments and kudos, I love and appreciate every one!

# I. A Summoning

The cathedral walls shook with the rumble of thunder, stained glass panes rattling in their casements as they were pelted with heavy sheets of rain. Only the candelabras were lit for the ceremony, casting a wan, flickering light around the chapel, eschewing the bright electric lights that could illuminate the cavernous structure in its entirety. As it was, with the storm raging beyond the old stone walls and the dancing candlelight, it was the perfect backdrop for a ritual.

_ A Satanic ritual. _

It was the second summoning that Cardinal Copia had conducted, the first resulting in an extremely fine specimen: a fire ghoul with an uncanny voice and a flair for the dramatic. He was found to be already well-versed at the guitar, picking the instrument up with a practiced ease, and seemed to have a general grasp of some percussion after he was found to be fooling around with a tambourine during a practice session. With such a successful first attempt expectations for this second one were quite high.

And the Cardinal, well, he did so _ hate _ to disappoint.

Perfumed smoke hung heavy in the still air, the thurible swinging on its chain in his hands, it’s arc carefully calculated to coincide with the rhythm of the deep chanting from the masked attendants. The motions and words were all memorized, etched into the cardinal’s mind through countless hours of study and practice till they were second nature, every step calculated, every hand sign perfectly executed. He expected nothing less of himself but absolute perfection, demanded the highest quality of work to summon the most talented and strong ghouls to the church’s service. His voice rings out clear from the soft chanting, a clarion call as he completes the circuit of the pentacle and standing at the downward facing point.

“Pater noster, qui es in infernum, praebueris robore tuo.” A flash of lightning illuminates the chapel, and from where he stood Copia could make out the tiniest flickering of lights amongst the incense hanging in the air inside the scribed pentacle lines. The assembled clergy could begin to feel the build of power in the air like a warm, heavy woolen blanket being draped over their heads, the static of the threads rubbing together crackling against their skin. It sent prickles of goosebumps down the flesh of the human clergy in attendance; their ghoulish brethren were, however, unaffected.

They stood to the side as Cardinal Copia began the ritual in earnest, hands rising to scribe lines in the incense-laden air as he begins to chant the scripture verses in carefully moderated monotone, his latin precise and impeccable. Water shifts restlessly next to Omega, tail flicking in agitation as a new wave of power crests and washes over them, making the old aether ghoul flick the tip of his own tail against the bassist’s leg. Speaking was disallowed to keep from breaking the summoner’s attention, else Omega would have growled at his fellow ghoul. As it was the sharp flick of his tail lets Water know that Omega is watching him and expects him to be on his best behavior. He sees the younger ghoul visibly sigh and shift slightly one last time before going stock still, silver mask pointed forward and, hopefully, all attention on the red-wreathed cardinal.

The pentacle lines begin to glow, filling with power directed by the incantations. If one paid close enough attention they could just make out small arcs of what looked like electricity beginning to ride and snap along the pentacle, slowly growing larger and brighter as the power builds to a palpable level. The cardinal flicks his hands, as if to rid them of the swirling, grasping tendrils of power flowing around him, shoulders squared and chin lifted as he begins to recite the last of the summoning incantations. “**In nomine Domini nostri Dominus Satanas,** ** subiciuntur nobis. Venit ad nos, tuus potentia erit nostrum. Vos nobis impero!**”

The accumulated power suddenly rushes forward, extinguishing all of the candles as it surges to feed the summoning ritual. The cathedral is lit for one long moment as a bolt of lightning strikes close before dropping to near pitch darkness, thunder crashing loudly as the chamber is lit only by the power bleeding from the pentacle. All could see the arcs of energy now as they rise and dance, crackling along the lines in a slow cadence.

“**Vos nobis impero!**” Cardinal Copia’s voice rings across the vaulted ceilings, amplified by the power he wielded. The pentacle burns brighter, the arcing power screeching and searing as it bridges the two realities, creating a path through which the summoned ghoul would be brought forth. The light radiating from the circle begins to grow brighter and brighter, forcing the assembled clergy to turn away or throw their hands over their faces to keep it from burning out their eyesight, till with a shriek akin to rending metal the summoning completes. The light is snuffed out instantaneously and a collective sigh ripples through the assemblage, though a worried whispering begins to rise through the ranks as the cathedral is wreathed in total darkness.

“**Da nobis lucem,**” Copia murmurs, and the candles come to life with a slow, soft glow. A couple of the siblings of sin gasp as they see a figure crouched inside the pentacle, having never attended a summoning before and thus not sure what to expect. As the candle flames grow in strength they’re able to see the summoned creature with more clarity, able to pick out small details of its appearance.

At first glance it seemed a jumbled pile of sleek gray and cream-colored limbs and a long, thick, sinuous appendage that evokes the image of a snake’s body writhing together. The appendage turns out to be the ghoul’s tail, easily longer than the entire length of the ghoul’s body, thick at the base and tapering to a wicked spearpoint at the tip. The end of the tail sways in the air, reaching out for balance as the ghoul untangles his arms and legs, crouched and panting for air. The tail brushes the innermost circle of the pentacle and the ghoul flinches and hisses as if shocked, the air around the circle shimmering as the power keeps the ghoul contained.

Omega watches the ghoul closely, noting the thoughtful hum from Water to his left. _ A water ghoul… I wonder from which tribe he is from. _ He catalogs the color and markings on his hide, finding the long stripes of black that travel alongside his spine to over his hips and down his flanks, the streaks of brilliant orange that frame them and veer off in slashes across the insides of his thighs. Most intriguing though, Omega finds, is the glitter of light off small gatherings of scales scattered across the sleek skin, shining iridescent as they reflect the candlelight.

Then the ghoul lifts his head, topped with a mop of loose black curls, and Omega feels his breath catch in his throat as a pair of eyes with the most deep and striking blue color look out among the assembled clergy. A twinge of familiarity prods the back of his mind but the old ghoul can’t yet place it, and before he can give it more thought Air is responding to a signal from the cardinal, approaching the cleric with a stand upon which is resting a silver mask. It was very similar to the masks worn by the other ghouls in attendance, save for a more mirror-like metal finish and a cutout where the long, pointed chin would be.

Removing his gloves and tucking them into a pocket the cardinal produces a small knife, pressing the edge of it into the pad of his right thumb till blood wells in the cut, the scent of it heady and rich and full of power, noticeable over the scent of incense to the ghouls. He presses the wounded finger to the forehead of the mask, muttering a string of Latin before taking his hand away and wiping the wound on a handkerchief. Copia then carefully lifts the mask from its stand, taking care that it does not touch Air as he turns to the ghoul in the summoning circle.

“Rejoice, for you have been chosen by our unholy father to carry out his will among the earthly realms.” As he spoke the Cardinal stepped closer to the circle till the tips of his shoes just barely touched the edge of the outer ring of protection, the air waving and shimmering before it pops with an inaudible release of pressure. The ghoul tilts his head and follows his motions with a curious gaze, a soft trill coming from his throat as he edges closer to the edge of the pentagram. Copia shifts the mask to his left hand and makes a sign with his right, dragging the naked digits through the air till the second circle drops.

“You shall obey us as you would our infernal majesty. For our will is his, our purpose guided by his sight, our devotion to him given willfully and thankfully. Henceforth you are nameless, a tool given generously for us to wield, a weapon with which to strike at our enemies.” The ghoul chirps, the sound echoing off the vast cathedral walls, the long length of his tail coiling in on itself as he shuffles forward on his knees, gemstone blue eyes wide and looking up at the cardinal with a naive sense of wonder from scant inches away. Copia takes the mask in both hands, stepping forward through the last circle to lower the mask onto the ghoul’s head as he speaks the final words of binding: “With our will, we have called you. With our blood, we command you. With this mask, we bind you. nemA.”

As the mask settles into place the ghoul reels back, hissing and baring his fangs, his tail uncoiling and snapping as he claws at the mask. Copia has the sense to take a long step backwards soon as he has the mask on the ghoul, the third and remaining circle holding and shimmering as the ghoul writhes in agony. Omega can’t help but feel a certain amount of pity for the creature as his body contorts, a series of pained shrieks that are quickly drowned out by the howling of the storm outside coming from his throat as the binding magic sinks into him. Razor sharp claws dig at the metal to no avail, not even marring the finish of it despite how the ghoul tries, the pointed tips sliding ineffectively off the smooth metal. The magic begins to truly do its work now, seeping into the ghoul’s flesh and contorting the muscles as if it were something alive under his skin. The color all bleeds into a uniform alabaster, almost looking as if he were cut from a rich vein of marble and sculpted to shape, claws dulling to blunt nails and tail shrinking till it is gone entirely. With a series of cracks and wet pops bones break and muscles tear, reattaching themselves as the binding magic twists and rearranges the Hell-born creature into a more preferable shape. At the end of it all where once a proud, regal figure crouched was instead a human figure curled into a fetal position, keening in pain and retching though there was naught in his stomach to come up but bile.

Despite the necessity of it, of the honor it truly was to be chosen and summoned to do their Lord's work, Omega feels the same as he does for all newly summoned ghouls: a heart-wrenching compassion and desire to go give what little comfort he could. Though he knows that it would not be his place to offer such, that honor belonged to Water as the eldest ghoul of his element in the church and Omega would not risk the ire of his fellow former bandmate. _ Perhaps later, when he's begun to settle in, _he decides as he watches Copia speak the final words to conclude the ritual, clapping his hands briskly to dismiss the gathered clergy as he breaks the pentagram with a brush of his foot against the chalk marks on the floor.

The ghouls all as one quickly close in around their new brethren, Water kneeling at his side and murmuring soft reassurances as he gently runs his hands down the ghoul's bare back. _ Poor thing, _ Omega thinks, as he watches the ghoul shudder and begin to shiver, gooseflesh breaking out along the expanse of pale, unmarked skin. Some ghouls shook off the remnants of the summoning better than others, though unfortunately that did not seem to be the case for this one as Water grunted in the effort of getting the ghoul to his feet and helping him hold steady. Air unfolds a robe and drapes it over the ghoul, stepping away as Earth darts near to help steady him from his other side. Together the two ghouls are able to nearly carry the newly summoned ghoul to his new quarters and get him onto his bed just as he passes out.

* * *

(Translation of Latin:

**“In nomine Domini nostri Dominus Satanas,**** subiciuntur nobis. Venit ad nos, tuus potentia erit nostrum. Vos nobis impero!”** = "In the Name of our God, Satan, submit to us. Come to us, your power will be ours. We command you!"

**“Vos nobis impero!”** = "We command you!"

**“Da nobis lucem,”** = "Give us light,"


	2. Acclimation

Rain wakes to a myriad of sensations, few of them pleasant. Everything ached, from his head to his toes, the mask covering his face feeling suffocating. He groans, leveraging himself into sitting up, fingers hitting the mask before he remembers to slide them in from the side to rub at his eyes.

“Finally, you’re awake.” Rain looks up at the voice, the words not in a language he knows but he can tell the meaning from the tone. _ Exasperated, bored, doesn’t want to be here _. There’s a black-clad, silver masked figure leaning against the far wall, the sharp eyes behind the metal watching him with an annoyed look. “I’ve been waiting for a few hours, glad you finally decided to join us.” The ghoul’s tail snaps against the wall, showing his agitation, and Rain wonders how he still has his when his own is tucked away behind glamor. He goes to ask but the human tongue and throat don’t work the same as he is used to, only an odd croaking sound coming out instead of a nervous chirping.

“Yeah, you’ll figure it out quick, don’t get all worked up over it,” the ghoul sighs, pushing himself from the wall and slouching closer, tossing a book into Rain’s lap. “Here, you’ll be allowed to take your mask off once you can hold your own glamor, the book’ll tell you how. Now get dressed and head down to the dining hall or you’ll miss breakfast.”

“...Uh?” It’s the only sound Rain was capable of making that made sense, as he stares at the uniformed ghoul. The rapid exchange of words had not meant a thing to him, and from the dismissive tone that it was obviously a task the ghoul did not want to be doing.

“Behemoth’s wrinkly ballsack, I don’t have time for this,” the ghoul mutters, the sneer in his voice perfectly clear. He walks to the dresser and yanks open a drawer, pulling out bits of clothing and throwing them onto Rain’s lap then stalking over to a door on the other wall, pulling it open and grabbing more clothing from hangers and tossing them onto the foot of his bed. “There, put that on and get going, or the others will eat everything by the time we get there.”

There’s a long moment where Rain looks at the clothing, trying to figure out where it all goes, then looks back up at the impatient ghoul with a fearful, hopeless gaze. “Fuck me, why do I get the useless ones,” the ghoul mutters, pinching the bridge of his masked nose before sighing and walking over to show the new water ghoul how to get properly dressed.

* * *

He was called Water, Rain finds out. And he _ hated _ dealing with newly summoned ghouls, because that meant he had to do actual _ work _, instead of slacking off in the greenhouses with Earth. The second morning he woke up, Rain was alone, left without any direction. He lies in bed for a long while, drifting in and out of a fitful half-sleep, waiting for Water to come collect him, muttering darkly under his breath the whole while, yet he never comes. Eventually Rain stumbles from his bed into the tiny bathroom, relieving himself and lamenting the lack of a tub or shower, settling for running water from the sink and splashing it over his bare skin. The need to be submerged in water ached deeply; despite being unwillingly shoved into a human skin he was still a water ghoul, and the call of his element sang mournfully through his blood. The little bit he could gather in his cupped hands from the sink was such a meager amount, doing little to nothing to satiate the need to soak and swim.

Unfortunately he could only spend so long splashing his skin wet and pads back into his room, looking around the small, nearly barren space forlornly before crawling back onto his bed, leaving a trail of wet footprints across the floor. A shudder runs down his spine as the water cools on his skin, bare but for the mask on his head. Rain heaves a heavy sigh, and drifts off back into hypnagogia.

* * *

_ The sky was burning, clouded with glaringly bright white feathers and eyes that could pierce metal. Fire rained from above though not a cloud marred the infinite blue, the ground heaving beneath his feet and crashing filling his ears. A singular thought rings bright and true across his mind: _

_ Water. Get to the water. Water is safe. _

_ It was all lies. _

_ Diving below the choppy waves should have let him hide from the fighting, should have kept him safe, but no, not even their haven was safe any longer. _

_ It burned. The water seared and burned anything it touched, like acid. It filled his mouth and nose, suffocating him as he screamed and flailed, feeling as if he were trapped there for an eternity before an arm grasps him around his waist and pulls him from the lake. He’s thrown onto the shore, too busy coughing up the liquid burning in his lungs to see who it was that saved him, what little air left in his lungs rushing out as he hits the ground hard and-- _

Rain wakes, gasping and struggling at the sheets wrapped around him. It takes a few long moments before he realizes he’s not dreaming any longer, the old nightmare dissolving into memory in the sunlight and a loud knocking coming from the opposite side of the room. He blinks wearily as he tries to untangle himself from the sheets, looking up when the door clicks and opens just enough for a masked head to poke inside.

“Oh! You _ are _ alive, good!” The voice is cheerful, and the mask vaguely familiar as the ghoul slips inside and closes the door behind him. Rain doesn’t remember speaking to him, but he does remember that he’s the only other ghoul with a mask like his own, all the other ghouls wearing a dull silver one without a cutout for their mouth.

“We haven’t seen you at any of the meals for the past two days, I was beginning to worry you’d died on us,” the newcomer chuckled, though his cheery demeanor falters as he notices the blank look Rain gives him.

“_ Do you not understand English, _ ” he asks, this time his voice the smooth, deep sounds of Ghoulish. Rain sighs and hangs his head, nodding shamefully. The ghoul croons softly and crosses the room in a couple strides of his long legs, reaching out and patting the water ghoul softly on the shoulder. “ _ Don’t worry, sometimes it just takes awhile to learn. Hungry? I can get one of the cooks to make you something since breakfast was over an hour ago. _”

The mention of food perks Rain up, his stomach growling loudly and reminding him he hasn’t eaten in two days. The ghoul chuckles at him again and steps away to let him roll from the bed. “Ahg... hng… eck...” Rain croaks, making a frustrated sound and shaking his head as he heads for the door.

“_ Woah, hey now. Clothes first, _ ” the ghoul laughs, moving to lean against the door. _ Water ghouls, such silly things, _ he thinks to himself as he watches Rain scurry back and dress himself, occasionally needing some help to make himself acceptably attaired. “ _ You can call me Swiss, by the way, _” he tells Rain as he helps him with the suspenders and making sure his tie is properly knotted.

“Su..ss…? Su...is…. Siss?” Swiss can’t help but chuckle at the water ghoul’s attempt to say his name, snapping one of his suspender straps lightly.

“_ Swiss. Try it slower, like this _ ,” he tells him, exaggerating the syllables. After a few tries it starts to sound like his actual name and Swiss slaps him on the back in approval. “ _ See! You did it! Just takes a bit of time to figure it out. You’ll get the rest eventually, don’t worry about it too much. _” The look of happiness in Rain’s eyes nearly melts his heart and he slings an arms around his thin shoulders.

“_ Now, food! _”

“Fod!” Rain says with a quiet smile, gladly letting Swiss steer them both out of the room and down the hall.

* * *

Swiss, Rain finds out, has a silver tongue. Always knowing what to say and when to get what he wants, his body language mirroring his words perfectly. The way he speaks-- the tones and inflections, the way he stresses some words and purrs others in a near melodic voice has the kitchen staff all giggling and fawning over him and Rain and plates of food being offered.

Rain doesn’t know what to do with all the attention and is unable to keep up with all the rapidly spoken English, instead focusing on the plate of sandwiches they’re given and eating silently. When he looks up to grab another he finds that a few of the kitchen staff, two females and a male, are all watching him with a strange, soft look that worries him. He tries to nudge Swiss softly to get his attention, though the other ghoul is so engrossed in whatever he’s saying to one of the cooks that he has to kick him in the ankle to get Swiss to look over at him. Rain whines softly, eyes flicking over to the humans watching him, hopefully able to convey his thoughts properly just the small sound and movement of his eyes. Thankfully Swiss catches on quickly, and chuckles, nudging him in the arm with an elbow.

“_ They think you’re cute, _” Swiss says, grinning at the slight tilt of Rain’s head in response. He turns and says something in English and the humans all make a bunch of soft noises, one of the females that had been watching stepping close and patting the top of his mask softly. It’s even more confusing as they chatter back and forth with Swiss, who ends up having to stop and translate for him, though one of the cooks brings a plate of cookies, still hot from the oven. Once all the food had been devoured by the two ghouls they end up trying to teach Rain how to speak their names.

“Kah...turn...een...uh,” Rain asks, the female who’d patted him on the head giving him a big smile.

“Kah-tree-nah,” she enunciates, then claps when he repeats it back in the same way after a few more tries. The other female chatters, wanting to try next but then there’s a thud as the kitchen door opens behind them, and the assembled humans all quiet, the ghouls turning to find an older sister of sin glaring at them all. She snaps at Swiss and Rain, her voice angry and clipped, motioning them to the door.

“_ Damn, she caught us. Time to get to work, I guess, _” Swiss sighs, rising from the table and calling out a thanks to the cooks for the food.

“Uh,” Rain asks, following on Swiss’s footsteps.

“_ Did Water not tell you? _ ” The suave ghoul looks almost scandalized when Rain shakes his head, muttering something under his breath that the water ghoul couldn’t understand. “ _ We have… Chores, I guess you could call them, to do every day. Water was supposed to tell you, no wonder the sister is pissed off. You can follow me around today, try and get you accustomed to the language as much as we can. Hopefully the binding magic will kick in and fix that for you… _”

* * *

It all becomes routine, after a few days.

Wake up, dress, go to breakfast, then report to an office for the sour-faced sister of sin to tell him what he’s supposed to do for the day. Slowly, word by word, the binding magic begins to fill in the gaps in Rain’s mind, bridging the meanings between Ghoulish and English so that he could understand most of what he was being told. There were still some things that he could not understand, but they seemed irrelevant for the most part and he was fine with ignoring them for the while.

The one thing the binding magic did _ not _ help with, though, was the written words.

On his first attendance of Black Mass he was handed a book, filled with thin, almost see-through delicate pages, and covered in tiny, _ completely indecipherable _ text. His eyes grow huge as he makes an attempt to understand even the smallest bit, but it ends up being beyond him. Instead he tries to copy what Swiss does, as he’s sat next to him on the pew, but quickly finds that his fellow ghoul merely falls asleep a few minutes into the sermon, given by an older human male dressed in elaborate robes and corpse paint. He speaks with a slow cadence, making it easy for Rain to follow, though the topic is dull and boring and he finds himself nearly nodding off like Swiss. Once it’s over and they’re all dismissed Rain breathes a sigh of relief, poking Swiss awake and stretching.

“Food,” he asks as Swiss yawns and stretching his arms and legs out.

“Gods, yes. I’m starving, thought he’d never finish,” Swiss mumbles, rolling his shoulders and prodding Rain in the direction of the dining hall. “At least they feed us good afterwards, else I’d just skip mass entirely…”

It’s how Sundays became Rain’s favorite day, being the only day they weren’t given work outside of being required to attend Black Mass. After lunch he was allowed to roam around the church as he saw fit, occasionally greeted by other ghouls or siblings of sin though he mostly kept to himself. He wasn’t allowed outside the building itself, sadly, and he found that standing at the huge windows looking out on the church grounds madethe longing to go out worse and since avoided it. On one particular afternoon he came upon a room filled with other ghouls, sitting together playing a variety of instruments as they chattered amongst themselves. He could hear the music through the door and peeked through the window, not wanting to go inside and disturb them, though he did stay and listen for a good few minutes, watching as fingers danced over strings and elicited a variety of sounds from the instruments. When they stop he quickly skitters away down the hall, wandering into one of the libraries and hiding amongst the tall shelves of books.

Later in the evening, after dinner but before curfew, he wanders back down to the room, finding it empty though the instruments are placed on stands. Going inside Rain walks around and marvels at them, the sleek bodies and shiny strings, and the set of drums with its wear-tarnished cymbals. The water ghoul stops in front of one instrument, the body white with a black portion, only four thick strings travelling down the dark wooden neck. He can’t help but reach out and run his fingers over the strings, the sound that results a deep thrum he feels as much as he hears. With a quick glance up at the door he reaches out and picks it up, a soft “oh!” of surprise falling from his lips at the weight of it. After a minute of fiddling about he gets the strap over his head and resting on his shoulder, fingers moving across the strings just like he’d seen the other ghouls doing earlier, the deep rumble of the strings filling him with a happiness he hadn’t felt since he’d been summoned.

“Hey! The fuck are you doing,” a voice snarls at him, jerking Rain out of his little reverie and looking up to find Water glaring at him. “That’s _ my _ bass, get your hands off it!” Rain scrambles to get the strap over his head and hand the bass over, nearly dropping it in his haste to comply. Water jumps forward and snatches the instrument away before it can hit the floor, growling low and menacing in his throat.

“Fuckin’ clumsy little shit,” Waters mutters, smacking Rain on the side of his mask and making the younger ghoul yelp. “Get the fuck out, and don’t go messing with people’s shit anymore.” Rain darts from the room as quick as he can, nearly running into a stout ghoul in the hallway. He stammers something that could possibly be counted as an apology as he runs off, sprinting back to his room and slamming the door shut behind himself.

He doesn’t notice how the ghoul he nearly ran into turns and watches him, a hand partially raised as if to reach out to him.


	3. A Meeting

A month passes.

The passage of time seems so much quicker here than back home in Hell, Rain thinks, as he’s cleaning out an office of a retired clergy member and readying it for whomever takes their place. There’s a surprising amount of junk that he spends more time boggling over than dealing with, wondering if he could keep any of the stranger knickknacks instead of throwing them away, which makes the task last much longer than the few hours the head sister had expected it to take. There’s tons of dust on the bookshelves and Rain ends up sneezing half the time as he’s dusting, shaking his head and trying to wipe at his nose from under his mask as he pulls a chair over so that he can climb onto it and reach the top shelves.

It was not, Rain thinks a few minutes later in a moment of clarity as the chair tilts and wobbles under him, his smartest idea. He plunges backwards as the chair falls over, the back of his mask slamming into the edge of the desk and everything goes dark.

He wakes to his head feeling like it’s splitting open and pain searing along his nerves. He moans softly, trying to move but his left arm erupts into fire at the slightest motion.

“ _ Satanas, are you alright _ ,” a soft voice asks from the side, and he blinks his eyes open and turns his head to see the speaker. Rain moans again, swallowing hard as a wave of nausea crashes over him, blinking slowly at the figure kneeling at his side. All he can make out is the halo of blue and silver hair around a soft, worried face.

“ _ It’s okay, stay still I’ll get you some help. You hit your head pretty bad I think, and it looks like your arm might be broken… don’t move, got it, _ ” she asks, leveraging herself to her feet with some difficulty and waddling to the door.

“Mnph,” Rain mumbles, eyes trying to track her as she goes to the office door, poking her head out and yelling down the hallway before waddling back over. With a grunt she kneels back next to him, gently prodding her fingers down his front.

“ _ I don’t think you’re hurt anywhere else, besides maybe your pride, _ ” she mutters, small, deft fingers checking over his ribs. Rain tries to speak again, a garbled croak coming from his throat then a hiss as he accidentally shifts his head. “ _ No, stop that. No moving, I said! _ ” Tsking at him softly she continues her examination, muttering softly under her breath about the clumsiness of men.

“ _ Mist, is everything--Lucifer, is he okay _ ,” a big ghoul asks as he enters the office, jerking in surprise when he finds Rain laid out on the floor.

“ _ Go get one of the aether ghouls, Tide, he’s hit his head pretty hard _ ,” she tells him, shooing him off with a wave of her hand. “ _ I couldn’t go get one myself, I think he might have a concussion or something, he shouldn’t be alone. _ ” The new ghoul, Tide, nods and hurries off, his shoes clicking sharply on the marble floors. Mist sighs and settles back, reaching over to rub a smudge off the side of Rain’s mask.

“ _ Poor thing, _ ” she murmurs, smiling softly at him. “ _ We’ll get you fixed up in no time, don’t you worry. _ ” As they wait she begins humming a little tune that nearly lulls Rain to sleep. He remembers, then, that he had to report back to the sour-faced sister of sin that afternoon, with an admonishment that he’d be punished if he failed to do so. The panic almost nearly overrides the pain and he jerks upright, which causes a rush of blood to his head and makes everything going light and woozy and fall back down again. The subsequent pain from jolting his mangled arm mixing with the slam of his head back onto the floor turns his vision into starbursts, pain flaring from everywhere and overwhelming his damaged head.

Everything goes black again, the world dissolving in fire and pain.

* * *

Rain wakes slowly, head feeling fuzzy and full of fluffy cotton. It takes a moment of blinking before his vision clears, showing him a dull white ceiling, flowing into dull white walls.

“ _ Oh, you’re awake! _ ” Turning his head he finds the ghoulette from earlier sitting at his bedside, looking very relieved. “ _ I was worried you’d hurt your head too bad and wouldn’t… _ ” She blinks rapidly to keep the tears that well up in her eyes from falling, giving him a soft, warm smile.

“Oh,” Rain breathes, feeling horrible that he’d upset her. “I… sorry…” His English was still horribly rudimentary, but at least now he could somewhat get his point across. Though she’d been speaking to him in Ghoulish he’d yet to grasp making the proper sounds in this human guise he was still trapped in, leaving him to rely strictly on communicating in broken words and gestures.

“ _ It’s okay, here let me tell them you’re up now. _ ” She pats his arm then takes a moment to struggle from her chair, her stride awkward as she moves to the door. Now that he could think and process things better, Rain notes that her belly is swollen with child, overlarge for her tiny frame. He can’t remember seeing a pregnant ghoulette since he’s been summoned, wondering if it was common for the clergy to encourage the ghouls to breed and increase their ranks without going through the mess of a summoning. His thoughts are cut short when she returns a moment later, a large ghoul following right behind, helping her back into her seat before turning his attention on Rain.

“ _ Hey, how are you feeling, _ ” he asks, face soft and comforting, voice a deep rumble. His eyes are a soft, light blue like the sky on a cloudless day, making him feel like he could gaze into for hours on end. " _ Everything alright? Do you feel dazed or anything? _ " 

"Oh… N-no, I… I fine," Rain stammers, jerking himself out of his little reverie and fidgeting with his fingers. He takes a moment to think over how he feels, trying to catalog the sensations, though he worries about how to communicate them. "Uh… Fuzzy?"

" _ Well, that can be expected after the fall you took. Can I see your left arm _ ," the big ghoul asks, giving him a soft smile and gently taking the limb when Rain offers it to him. His hards are very warm, Rain finds, the skin of his hands rough with callouses but gentle as they feel the muscle and bones, examining how the joints move and bend closely.

“ _ You broke the ulna in your arm, the bone right along here, _ ” he points out, tapping a spot with a fingertip then running it up and down his skin lightly, causing Rain to shiver at the contact. “ _ You also dislocated your shoulder and gave yourself quite the concussion. It was a pretty bad fall; good thing Mist heard you and went to see what the noise was. _ ”

“S-sorry…” The water ghoul drops his eyes to his hands, lacing his fingers together when the ghoul relinquishes his arm from his examination, seemingly finding all to be in order.

“ _ No need to apologize, it happens. Just be careful next time, alright? _ ” The quintessence ghoul pats him on the shoulder gently, humming softly. “ _ Rest here for the rest of the afternoon. I’ll see that the kitchen sends up something to eat and I’ll come back and look in on you in the evening. If everything seems fine we’ll have you back in your own room tonight. And you, _ ” he continues, turning and giving the ghoulette a knowing smile, “ _ should stay put as well. You need to be careful, little sister. Too much excitement at this stage isn’t good for you, or your kit. _ .” There’s a tone of sincerity to his voice that makes the ghoulette sigh and nod, fingers fiddling with the buttons of her altered cassock.

“ _ Yes, Omega. I know, I’ll be fine. Tide will be watching me like a hawk. _ ” She gives him a tired smile, as if she’s heard this a few times before. The quintessence ghoul gives them both another smile before leaving, Mist yawning as the door clicks shut. Rain can’t help but follow suit, feeling tired and drained though he’d been asleep for a good while earlier.

“ _ A nap does sounds great, doesn’t it, _ ” she says sleepily, and as if on cue the other ghoul Rain vaguely remembers comes inside. “ _ Oh, good, my chariot has arrived. I’m glad you’re alright, you can come and visit me anytime you want. I’m so bored now that they’ve put me on bed rest, _ ” she giggles as she’s picked up and cradled in the bigger ghoul’s arms. Rain nods and mumbles a thank you before snuggling back into the pillows, sighing softly and falling back asleep.

* * *

“ _ Wake up, sleepyhead _ ,” a soft voices calls, dragging Rain back away from the light doze he was floating in. Groggily he leverages himself upright, working his fingers under his mask and rubbing at his eyes.

“Ugh,” he sighs, blinking slowly at the ghoul carrying a tray into the room. It takes a moment for him to recognize him as the quintessence ghoul, Omega, from earlier, his mind still a little slow on the uptake.

“ _ Here, I bet you’re hungry so I brought you some dinner to have before going back to your room. Feeling up to eating _ ,” he asks, smiling gently as he unfolds the legs and settles the tray over Rain’s lap.

“Thank you.” Rain looks over the tray, finding it to be mostly the standard fare the clergy fed the ghouls: a piece of rare meat, roasted potatoes, and something green that looked like little stalks and were crunchy.

“ _ You can take your mask off in here, there’s no one to see and I won’t tell anyone _ ,” the big ghoul mentions, settling down into the chair Mist had occupied earlier. Rain goes still with his fork halfway to his mouth then lowers it back to the plate, looking away as his cheeks color in shame.

“ _ Is something wrong _ ,” Omega asks him, blinking and looking worried. Rain makes a soft noise and shakes his head, staring down at his food without picking the fork back up. The quintessence ghoul doesn’t give up so easily, his head tilting as he looks over Rain with more scrutiny.

“ _ You… can’t take it off, can you, _ ” he pieces together, watching how Rain’s shoulders fall and he tilts his head in a slight nod. “ _ Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It takes awhile to work the glamor magic for some. Water did give you the book, right? _ ”

Rain nods again, making a soft noise of frustration and shifting uncomfortably. Omega picks up his body language and makes a few guesses, leaning forward and bracing his elbows gently on the tray across his lap.

“ _ Can you… not read it, _ ” he hazards, reaching out and rubbing the water ghouls shoulder when he further deflates and nods in defeat. “ _ Hey, it’s fine. I can help teach you, if you’d like, _ ” Omega offers, giving Rain a bright smile.

“...Please?” Rain looks over at him with wide, hopeful eyes, glad that someone would offer to help him.

“ _ Sure! But first, you should eat. _ ” The quintessence ghoul chuckles softly as Rain tucks into his food with renewed vigor. “ _ I’ll speak with the clergy to give you some free time for lessons. Truthfully, Water should have helped you from the get-go, but as you can tell...  _ “ Omega waves his hand dismissively, leaning back in his chair and relaxing.

“He… mad, always,” Rain mumbles through a mouthful of vegetables. Omega can’t help but chuckle again.

“ _ You aren’t wrong there, he’s still a bit bitter about being replaced on stage, _ ” Omega points out, shrugging and giving a quiet sigh. “ _ He shouldn’t take it out on you, I’m sorry. _ ”

“Stage?” Rain has heard this word mentioned here and there amongst the clergy, yet he’s not sure what it is they’re talking about.

“ _ The band. Oh, he didn’t tell you that, either, I suppose _ ,” Omega sighs, rubbing at the back of his neck. “ _ It’s the current tool the clergy is using to help convert nonbelievers to our cause. Using music to win over the masses. We ghouls play the instruments, and one of the papas is the singer. We travel the world to spread our unholy gospel… it’s a great honor to be one of the band ghouls. _ ”

“Uh?” The water ghoul tilts his head curiously as he chews his food.

“ _ Earth ghouls play the drums, air plays the keyboards, water ghouls play the bass guitar, aether plays the rhythm guitar, and fire ghouls get the proud place of lead guitar, _ ” the quintessence ghoul explains. “ _ I played rhythm guitar for a long while, but I had to return here to the church to attend to Papa Nihil. They change out water ghouls from time to time, I don’t really know why, but Water took it… not well, as you’ve seen. _ ”

Rain nods, chasing the last of the potatoes around the plate with his fork. He had so many questions to ask yet no way to do so, though with the promise of help he doesn’t feel as lost as would otherwise.

“ _ But, enough of that for the moment. Do you have a name you want to be called, _ ” Omega asks, helping move the now empty tray aside.

“Rain,” the water ghoul mumbles, using the nickname given to him by his best friend when they were still kits. Omega nods then helps him out of the bed, making sure he’s steady on his feet before gently laying a hand on the small of his back to guide him into the hall.

“ _ Rain, it’s a nice name, _ ” Omega hums, then falling silent as he guides Rain down the hallways back to his room. “ _ I’ll see about those lessons, and come talk to you tomorrow. If you start to feel faint or dizzy ask someone to call me. Head injuries are the trickiest to heal, and I prefer to err on the side of caution. _ ”

“O-okay.” Rain nods slowly not quite wanting to return to his room but having no other choice. Omega smiles and pats him on the back gently before turning and heading down the hall, leaving Rain to watch his retreating back with soft expression.


	4. Lessons

Sister Margaret was one of the older clergy and tasked with keeping track of and assigning work for the church ghouls. Fanatical in her devotion to Satan and with a strict adherence to rules, she was perfect for the job, if seen as a bit too straight-laced by her charges. While never having any issues with her on his own Omega knew most of the ghouls quite disliked her, though he accepted and understood the necessity of her. Bored ghouls caused trouble, and there was always something to be done in the church.

Convincing her to let him see Rain for a couple hours every day to help teach him to read and speak English was the most aggravating five minutes of the past century before she finally relented. She slammed a thick tome on her desk and flipped through the pages until she found the one with Rain’s name, pulling out her fountain pen and scratching out a column then adding in the note ‘lessons- verbal and literacy’ in sharp, precise print. The quintessence ghoul thanked her for her cooperation and quickly left her small office, breathing a sigh of relief once he was halfway down the hallway, glad he was done dealing with the obstinate woman.

Omega finds Rain down in laundry rooms, fussing with the more delicate clerical robes that he’s washed by hand and trying to hang up to dry. Gently grabbing one part, he holds it up so Rain can get it pinned properly, smoothing the fabric so it doesn’t wrinkle as it dries.

“Thank you,” the water ghoul mumbles, rolling down his shirt sleeves and cuffing them at his wrists.

“ _ No problem, ready for your first lesson? I’ve already cleared it with Sister Margaret, she’s given you an hour before lunch each day for them _ ,” Omega explains motioning Rain to the door. With a hand resting gently on the water ghoul’s back, he slowly herds Rain to an empty study that he had chosen before hunting him down. With the door closed it was quiet and calm, a little oasis from the hustle and bustle of church life.

“ _ I found some of the workbooks they use for the human children, to teach them to write, and a few other things to help with reading, _ ” the quintessence ghoul explains, waving Rain into one of the chairs at the little table. “I’ll switch to speaking English for most of the lessons. If you don’t understand the words, please speak up and we can go over them in both languages so that you learn them.”

“Yes,” Rain nods, shifting in the leather seat and clasping his hands in his lap, trying his best not to fidget nervously. Omega gives him an encouraging smile, shuffling through the books and pulling one out.

“We’ll start here, the basic alphabet. Now, repeat after me…”

* * *

After just the first week of lessons Rain felt he was beginning, finally, to catch on to the human language. It was tiring work, though Omega was a great, and patient, teacher, seeming to know when to push him and when to back off and slow down, able to keep Rain from losing focus and getting overly frustrated. That’s not to say that he doesn’t get frustrated at all, there were many times where the water ghoul would make a strangled noise and stomp his foot, muttering incoherent noises when he’d fail to remember a certain word or letter.

“Hey, it’s alright, take your time,” Omega soothed, giving Rain one of those soft smiles that made his insides feel all light and wiggly. It never failed to pull his attention away from his frustration, and for once he was glad for the mask covering his face as it hid the bright blush across his cheeks. He’d take a few moments to collect himself, trying to ignore the feeling of butterflies in his gut, before resuming the reading albeit with a slight tremor to his voice. Once Rain had mastered the basics Omega started working through the booklet of the glamor spells, hoping to get the water ghoul able to make his own glamor and be allowed to remove his mask.

“This will take a bit longer, because you have to do it twice. First, we’ll just learn the words since they’re in latin, then we’ll go onto the actual magic,” the quintessence ghoul says, flipping through the pages of the book then smoothing it out on the table between them.

“Lat...in?” Rain asks, looking at the words curiously. It’s the same letters that he’d been taught, though they’re arranged into words that he’s not yet seen before.

“It’s an old, human language, and best used for the magic that the clergy wields. And also the language that parts of Mass are conducted in, if you’ve been paying attention,” Omega explains, laughing softly at the guilty cast to Rain’s eyes at the mention of Mass. “Don’t worry, I know it’s boring. Just don’t get caught sleeping, or you’ll end up like Alpha did once and stuck chopping onions in the kitchens for a week.”

Rain nods diligently, focusing on the words and reciting them as Omega sounds them out for him. Omega had given him a little notebook and a pen to practice his writing in and he scrawls down the phonetic sounds of each word, so he could try to recite them on his own during the evenings. It was slower work than what they had started with, but this didn’t seem as frustrating. Sure, there were still days where he was lucky to memorize only a handful of words, but with a goal in mind Rain was much better able to focus and be determined. The prospect of being able to take this mask off, to be allowed to have a form closer to his true self, to finally shed the rough and ungainly human form he was imprisoned in was enough to keep him going through each phrase and incantation.

After one particularly trying day of tripping over some words that, in Rain’s opinion, were entirely too large and complicated to be remotely useful, he felt as if his brain was slowly turning to mush. At least, by some miracle, he had the rest of the afternoon off from chores, and took to wandering the halls as he tried to think of what to do. He passes by the practice studio that Omega said the old ghouls used, peering into the dark room curiously but not wanting to go inside and have a repeat of his last visit there. He remembers, then, the invitation given to him by the tiny pregnant ghoulette, Mist, to visit her in his free time. There’s a spring in his step as he scurries down the halls, though he has to pause and ask a brother of sin where her room was, excited at the prospect of getting to talk to a ghoul of his same element.

“ _ Oh! It’s you _ ,” she laughs when she answers her door, shuffling aside to let him in. “ _ I hadn’t seen or heard anything of you since, and hoped you had fallen off any balconies or something. _ ”

“Nope! Am fine,” Rain chirps, unable to stop himself from looking around curiously. The room and furniture was almost the same as his own, though she also had a plush armchair and various other little items decorating her dresser and walls.

“ _ That’s good to hear, I’m relieved, _ ” Mist smiles, waddling over to the armchair and settling herself on the cushions with a sigh. “ _ I swear, if I get any bigger I’m going to have to be rolled to get anywhere. _ ”

“First? And coming soon,” Rain asks, following and sitting on the floor in front of the chair.

“ _ Yes, it’s my first kit. And, we don’t know really. This is a first for the church, too, _ ” she chuckles, rubbing a hand over her belly and smiling softly. “ _ No one knows if it’s going to go different since we aren’t in Hell and all that. Also why they’re always on my case about everything. _ ”

“Oh,” Rain says, reaching out a hand before remembering that she might not want a strange ghoul touching her and pulling it back.

“ _ You’re fine, _ ” Mist laughs, waving at him in invitation. “ _ Curious little thing aren’t you? What tribe are you from? _ ”

“Uhm...” Rain chews on his lip as he reaches out and lays his hand on her swollen belly. He can feel the gently pull of his element through the fabric of her cassock, thrumming with the life of the kit growing inside her. “I… word, don’t know,” he mumbled, running his fingers over Mist’s cassock.

“ _ Oh… not gotten the language down yet, huh, _ ” she asks, giving him a soothing smile. “ _ It’s alright, some of us take longer to get it. I got it pretty quick, though Tide took almost three months before he’d even begin to try talking. Silly ghoul learned sign language before he learned to talk. _ ” She reaches down and taps the tip of his masked nose, grinning at him. “ _ So, which would you be from… You’re too soft to be from the ocean tribes… let me guess, lake tribe? _ ”

“Yes!” Rain nods, surprised at how quickly she figured it out. 

“ _ Knew it, _ ” she giggles, clapping her hands together and grins down at him. “ _ You freshies are such cute, silly things. Tide and I are both from the Ocean tribes, though he’s from the islands and mine’s from the coast. _ ”

“Oh!” Rain knew only a little of the other tribes of water ghouls, kept mostly to his own and the tribe of river ghouls that would come down a few times of the year to trade. The times he was allowed to attend the big gathering once a year he was kept under his mother or grandfather’s watchful eye, unable to really interact much with the other tribes of ghouls. Rain shifts as one of his feet begins to fall asleep from sitting on it and Mist waves at him to get up.

“ _ You can sit on the bed, don’t have to be on the floor, _ ” she laughs, poking him with her foot gently. At the gentle prodding he lumbers to his feet, shaking out the feeling of pins and needles from his legs before settling on the side of her bed. Something catches his eye from the corner near her chair, and he tilts his head to look at it curiously.

It was an instrument, just like the one Water had snapped at him for messing with.

“ _ Oh, my bass got your attention, huh? _ ” Mist chuckles, turning to grab it without rising from the chair. The weight of it made it unwieldy and she ends up dragging it on its stand across the floor, grunting as she tries to lift it. “ _ Oof… I swear, it gets heavier every day, _ ” she groans, a little out of breath from the small bit of exertion.

“Bass,” Rain asks, standing and shuffling closer. He wrings his hands, wanting to touch it and play it like the last time, but is terrified of angering Mist like he had Water.

“ _ Yep, bass! That’s the name of the instrument. I played with the band for a little bit until… well, this. _ ” She gestures to her belly, giving him a rueful smile. “ _ You want to play it? It’s a bit too big and heavy for me right now, not sure the kit would enjoy the feeling so close either... _ ”

“P-please?” Rain’s eyes go wide and he shifts from foot to foot excitedly.

“ _ Sure! No need to be so timid about it. I don’t bite, _ ” Mist laughs, though her grin does show off her pointed fangs. She watches as Rain carefully picks it up and works the strap over his head, settling the heavy weight of the instrument across his shoulder and against his chest.

“ _ Here, let me help, _ ” she offers, reaching out to help him settle it properly and show him how to hold it. “ _ There you go! Now, these are the strings… _ ”

Time seems to fly as she coaches him through some of the basics, the ghoulette marvelling at how quick Rain is able to learn. She guides him through scales and simple patterns, wondering aloud if she still had some of the bass tabs from the band stuffed in a drawer somewhere.

“ _ You’re a natural at it, this is wonderful, _ ” beamed Mist, clapping her hands excitedly. Her eyes dart over to the clock on her desk and she wilts a little, noticing the time. “ _ Oh, it’s getting late… if you stay too much longer you’ll miss dinner… _ ”

Rain’s head snaps up, eyes going wide and he scrambles to put the bass away. Mist can’t help but giggle at him, finding his frenzy to go get food a bit comical.

“ _ Can you come back tomorrow, _ ” she asks, having enjoyed the company and teaching him her instrument. “ _ I’ll find some of my old tabs, teach you to read and play them if you want. _ ”

“Oh! Please!” Rain nearly bounces with excitement at the prospect, having truly enjoyed himself this afternoon. It made all of the frustration and worry over the English lesson with Omega melt away, leaving him feeling happy and excited to come visit and spend more time with Mist and her bass. He waves goodbye before slipping out of the room and dashing down the halls, not wanting to miss dinner.

* * *

Rain was nervous, feeling like there was a weight in his gut. He fights the urge to want to cover himself, his uniform neatly folded in a pile on the chair next to him, modesty a strange, new feeling he did not quite enjoy. His hands shook slightly, palms damp with sweat, and he had to close his eyes for a moment and take a few slow, measured breaths. It helps, just like Omega said it would, but he wished it could make the anxiety chewing at him from the inside go away.

He wished, more than anything, that Omega could be here with him.

The office was large, larger than the ones he’d been cleaning for the past three weeks. The cardinal that sat behind the desk didn’t seem as bad as some, he at least didn’t have a perpetually sour expression like Sister Margaret, though his mismatched eyes did seem to bore holes straight through him. He waves his hand through the air, mumbling a soft string of words that Rain picked out as Latin, though it was not any of the words he had learned.

“Alrighty then. If you do not mind, ghoul, you may take off your mask and set it to the side,” the cardinal instructs with a nod of his head. Rain returns the nod, albeit a bit shakier, takes another deep breath and slowly removes his mask. Just as the metal fully clears his head, a feeling of being doused in ice water flows over him as the glamor is stripped from his form. The ghoul can’t help the sag of his shoulders and quiet sigh of relief as he’s allowed his natural form, tail swishing and coiling in the air around him, stretching out after so long being forced away. He lays the mask on the table indicated, then goes back to the spot he had been standing at.

“Good, good... Now, if you could please demonstrate for me your own glamor. Make it as close to the one the mask gave you as you can.” Leaning back in his chair, the cardinal watches Rain closely, elbows resting on the arms of his chair with his fingers steepled together. The scrutiny didn’t help Rain’s nervousness yet he tries to ignore it, closing his eyes and focusing inward. He imagines sitting at the table with Omega, the book open before him, remembering the words and how he’s recited them countless times before. He takes a breath and squares his shoulders, speaking the words as he follows the memory, gathering the power and willing it to bend to his will just like Omega had taught him. Just as the quintessence ghoul had mentioned there was some resistance, the power not wanting to do what he told it at first, but as he recites the incantation it snaps into place, followed quickly by the now familiar wash of cold across his skin.

“Ah, perfect,” praised the cardinal. “Well done. Do you think you could manage the halfway form, like the other church ghouls?”

“Uhm…” Rain has to think for a moment, remembering how Mist and the others looked with their horns, claws, and tails showing, if in a more subdued form. He whispers the incantation again, shuddering as the glamor shifts and slides over his skin, and when he opens his eyes he finds that he’d managed it quite well.

“Wonderful! I’m sure it feels much better than that stuffy human glamor, uh?” The cardinal chuckles, giving Rain a confident smile. “It is unfortunate that due to, uh, some… physical features, some ghouls have that we cannot accommodate you in your true forms. This is something of an… acceptable compromise, uh?”

Rain grins, showing off his fangs and chirping happily, finally able to vocalize the sounds that made up a part of the Ghoulish language. His thinner, shorter tail sways from side to side as it seems all his previous nervousness has melted away. He watches curiously as the cardinal drags a piece of paper across his desk and scribbles something onto it then pressing a stamp at the bottom.

“Here,” he says, holding out the paper to the ghoul. “Go give that to the seamstress and she’ll have some uniforms made to accommodate the new glamor, though you will have to use the human one till they are done.”

“Yes, sir,” Rain chirps, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement as he steps forward to take the note.

“Okie dokie then,” the cardinal laughs, “get dressed and I’ll remove the binding magic on the mask. You will be allowed to take it off while amongst your peers, though we ask that you try to stay masked while around the human members of our clergy.”

Rain nods, focusing on sliding the human glamor back in place, finding that it comes to him a little easier, the initial resistance starting to lessen bit by bit. He watches the cardinal as he slowly pulls his uniform, the red-robed clergyman rising from his desk and walking to the table and hefting the mask. Rain pauses doing up the buttons of his dress shirt to watch the cleric wave his hand back and forth above the mask, mumbling a soft string of words that he could not make out. The air pressure does something weird, getting momentarily heavier then feeling as if there was an inaudible ‘pop’, and then the pressure is gone. The water ghoul tilts his head to the side then goes back to the buttons, tucking his shirt in then slipping the suspender straps over his shoulders before grabbing his tie, thankfully able to just loop it over his head and tighten the knot back in place.

“Here you are, no more binding. But remember,” the cardinal warns him softly as he hands over the mask, “this does not mean we are not always watching. So take care, and obey the rules which have been set for you, uh?” His congenial facade is stripped away into a much more serious one, the white left eye seeming to pierce straight through to Rain’s soul.

“Y-yes, your Eminence,” Rain squeaks, nodding fervently. He quickly slides the mask over his head and bows before escaping the cardinal’s office.

* * *

_ It’s been awhile, I hope it went well, _ Omega thinks, sorting through the workbooks and papers he’d brought for Rain’s next lesson. They made plans to meet up after Rain’s visit to the upper clergy to display his aptitude for glamor, which Omega expected to take at most half an hour. It was nearing forty-five minutes though, and the worry began to set in.  _ He knew everything by heart, his pronunciation was perfect. He should have been just fine, but what if… _ The quintessence ghoul sighs, shaking his head to dispel the thoughts, trying to be positive.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” Water snorts, leaning in the doorway. “The hell you been doing here anyways?”

“Actually being useful to our brethren,” Omega quipped, giving Water a knowing look. He can see the bassist roll his eyes, most likely sneering at him from behind his mask as well.

“Whatever,” Water grumbles, slouching inside and flopping into the chair that Rain usually occupied. “Again, the hell have you been doing?”

“It seems that the newest ghoul in our clergy had some issues with communication, and since the ghoul assigned to help him seemed to shirk the duty entirely I have stepped in to do the job myself,” Omega says pointedly, lifting his chin to give Water a glare.

“Huh?” Water looks confused for a moment, then it dawns on what Omega was insinuating. “Oh, fuck off. That ghoul’s just going to be trouble… he couldn’t even talk for fuck’s sake. Like he’s ever going to be of any use besides washing dishes and clothes.”

“Funny you say that, because Mist tells me he’s picked up playing the bass faster than any other ghoul in the clergy.” Omega gives Water a smirk, knowing just how much that would ruffle the ghoul’s feathers.”Perhaps, maybe, if you spent more time actually practicing instead of... whatever it is you an Earth are always getting into, you might get chosen to go back on tour…”

Water growls, hackles rising and his tail thrashing. Just as he’s about to snarl something in response Rain walks in, stopping dead in his tracks when he finds his seat occupied by the one ghoul he doesn’t want to run in to. Water growls something low and incomprehensible before standing and stalking from the room, shooting Rain a withering glare as he shoulers past him.

“H-have I d-done something… wrong,” Rain asks, shuffling over to his chair and looking down at his feet.

“No, no, Water’s just… being Water. How did it go with the cardinal?” Omega gives Rain a reassuring smile, hoping all went well for the young ghoul.

“Oh, um, it uh...” Rain mumbles, then reaches for his mask and pulls it off.

Something twinges in Omega’s chest as Rain beams at him, blue eyes shining bright and mussed black hair framing his face. He’s reminded that it’s been months since he’s seen Rain’s face, and even then it was for just a minute after he was summoned, the human glamor at least similar to his true form he remembers from that stormy night.  _ Handsome, striking eyes, almost delicate features. Wouldn’t mind getting to know him better... _

“Congratulations, I knew you could do it,” praised Omega, quickly pushing the thoughts away. “We can go down and see the seamstress about getting you some new uniforms so you can wear a simple ghoulish glamor.”

“Oh, already done!” Rain chirps, grinning. “That’s why I was late. Cardinal gave me note, took it right after. Sewing lady said two days for new clothes!” The water ghoul squirms excitedly in his seat, still grinning from ear to ear. His mood was infectious and Omega can’t help but chuckle in amusement.

“Seamstress, not sewing lady,” he gently corrects, nodding as Rain parrots the word back to him. “We’ll just do a short lesson today, go down to lunch early as a treat for you getting your glamor figured out.” Omega gives Rain another smile as he opens the workbooks and slides Rain’s over to him, focusing on the lesson and not the thoughts from a few moments ago, shelving those to better examine later that night.

* * *

“ _ Oh, well look at you, _ ” Mist exclaims when Rain comes to visit a few days later clad in his new glamor and altered uniform, able to finally remove his mask in her company. “ _ And you’re such a looker too! Oh, you are going to have half the church falling at your feet! _ ” The small ghoulette giggles and ruffles his hair affectionately, beaming at him like a proud mother to her kit.

“ _ M-maybe, _ ” Rain chirps back, happy to be able to speak his own language again. Except with the human clergy, he finally won’t be tripping and stumbling over words he didn’t know, and also glad to be able to make all the little expressive sounds that had no equivalent in any human tongue. And his tail! Lucifer how he’s missed his tail… while this one is so much shorter at least having it there felt  _ normal _ , felt  _ right _ to have it swaying behind him or coiling around one of his legs.

“ _ I feel that we should celebrate but they won’t let me have anything fun to eat, _ ” the ghoulette pouts, the look on her face making Rain giggle.

“ _ After you have your kit, then we can celebrate both, _ ” Rain offers, reaching over to rub her belly gently, trilling softly to the unborn kit when he feels it move under his hand.

“ _ Oh, a lovely idea! We can throw a party, and a proper one at that, humans be damned, _ ” Mist bubbled, clapping her hands together. “ _ Go out onto the back end of the church grounds, dig a fire pit, get some meats and fish roasting, just like back home! _ ”

Rain chirps happily at the idea, the few months he’d been here he’s not seen any kinds of celebrations be held, wondering if perhaps it was something humans didn’t do, or just did not allow the ghouls to do. He goes and picks the bass up from its stand and settles the strap over his shoulder, purring softly as it feels just so nice to have the weight of it on him. Rain runs his fingers down the neck, experimenting with how much of a difference it was to press down on the strings with his claws present.

“ _ Takes a bit to get used to, _ ” Mist comments as she watches him refamiliarize himself with the instrument. She then chirps softly as she remembers something and leans over to grab a folder sitting on top of her nightstand, holding it out to him. “ _ Here, I had Tide find the rest of the base tabs, and get some of the new ones from the current tour copied for you to keep. _ ”

“ _ Oh, thank you! _ ” Rain takes the folder and shuffles through the pages, his tail swaying back and forth as he reads through the tabs for  _ Mummy Dust _ . “ _ Oh, it has weird things, what are these _ ,” he asks, holding the page out and pointing to a funny curved line next to one note.

“ _ Oh, that! You just bend the string to change the pitch, _ ” Mist clarifies, then reaches over and demonstrates it on one of the strings. “ _ Like that! Try it out a bit. _ ”

Time goes by quickly, the two chatting idly about random things, Mist occasionally showing Rain a trick or clarifying the tabs for him. Eventually the talk dies down and she sits back and just listens to him play, smiling to herself the whole while.

“ _ So, I heard you spend a lot of time with Omega. _ ” A slow, devious grin spreads across the ghoulette’s face. The question makes Rain look up, brows knitting at the look she was giving him though he keeps playing.

“ _ Yes? He’s been teaching me English. Helped me learn the glamor spells since Water… didn’t. _ ” He cocks his head to the side as he watches her look more and more devilish.

“ _ He teaching you… other… things as well, _ ” she purrs, waggling her eyebrows salaciously.

“ _ W-what?! Umm…, _ ” Rain sputters, the strings giving a loud twang as his hands jerk, cheeks going hot as he blushes.

“ _ Aww hey, Omega’s a good catch. Big, sweet aether ghoul… I’ve heard he’s quite the, uh, ‘handful’ in the bedroom, too. _ ” Chuckling at her fellow water ghoul’s reaction she leans forward as much as she was able and wiggles her fingers at him. “ _ But really, you seem to get along with him really well. Doesn’t hurt to try… plus, it’s always nice to have some ‘company’, if you know what I mean. _ ”

“ _ I, I know what you mean, _ ” Rain chirps, embarrassed. He rubs at the back of his neck and chews on his bottom lip, his tail coiling around one of his legs on reflex. If he was being honest with himself, he’d had the same thoughts a few times, though he’s kept them well hidden. The last thing he wanted to do was have the quintessence ghoul pull away from him if he didn’t share the feeling of attraction.

“ _ Aww, I forgot how shy some of you freshies can be, _ ” Mist giggles, her use of the nickname the saltwater ghouls used for their freshwater brethren making Rain chirp and pout at her. His face just makes her laugh harder, and in moments the two of them were giggling like kits.


	5. Sorrow

Fall came early to the church that year.

It was subtle; starting with crispness to the air followed by a slow turning of some varieties of leaves from bright green to yellow. It takes a few days for Rain to truly notice it, stopping in his tracks when he does and gazing out at the orchards and forest beyond them, picking out the riot of color that was blooming through the treetops. While it’s not too different from the changing of seasons back home, he still found it a uniquely beautiful event and was happy to see that it happened here as well.

He was hoping to ask Omega if they could have their lesson in one of the courtyards, get to stretch out on the grass before it died and enjoy the nice weather while he recited phrases and passages from the book he’d given him to read. The idea spurred him through the morning task of working in the laundry rooms, washing and folding all the delicate robes for the upper clergy, a boring task made bearable by the idea of getting to see Omega for their daily lesson.

He arrived at the study they normally used at the appointed hour, however there was something strange: for the first time yet, Omega was not there.

Thinking that the quintessence ghoul was merely late, Rain takes his seat in his usual chair, swinging his feet and tail as he hummed to himself softly as he waited. After a good ten minutes passed, if he was reading the clock on the wall right, he began to feel nervous, wondering where Omega could be. Rain waits another five minutes, fidgeting the whole while, before giving up sitting around and leaves the study, heading down to the wing of the church that Omega had told him the retired band ghouls resided in. Anxiety roiled in his stomach at the prospect of running across Water again, not wanting to have the older ghoul snarling at him.

Thankfully, the ghoul lounging in their common room wasn’t Water, though he’s also saddened to find that it wasn’t Omega either.

“Uhm, ex...excuse me,” Rain chirps to get the ghoul’s attention. A pair of blue eyes look at him through the holes in his silver mask, eyes that make Rain want to shrink away and hide.

“Eh? Yeah, what’s up,” the ghoul asks, head cocked to the side. Rain resists the urge to shuffle his feet and chews on his bottom lip, gathering the courage to speak.

“I-is, uhm… is Omega around?”

“Omega? Nah,” the ghoul shrugs, though his eyes narrow as he looks Rain over a little more closely. “You’re the one he’s been spending his free time with, huh?”

“I, uh… um, d-do you k-know where he is?” Rain winces at how his voice trembles and stares down at his feet.

“Not real sure, he ran out all in a tizzy early this morning, probably someone hurt and needing healing down at the infirmary.” The ghoul shrugs again, yawning and stretching out his arms and legs, looking just like the tigers Rain remembers seeing in a documentary playing on one of the TVs in one of the common rooms, all coiled muscle and barely restrained power.

“Oh, um, thank you,” Rain mumbles, starting to turn away when the ghoul speaks to him again.

“Alpha,” he says, and Rain can practically feel the sense of smugness that the ghoul exudes.

“I-I’m sorry?”

“My name, it’s Alpha. Don’t you forget it,” Alpha purrs, a dangerous edge resounding in his voice.

“Y-yes, Alpha. T-thank you,” Rain chirps before fleeing the room, uncaring that he’s not trying to hide the fact that he’s fleeing in near-terror. It’s not until he’s a few halls away that Rain finally slows down, taking a moment to catch his breath before resuming his search for the quintessence ghoul.

* * *

It didn’t feel real. Nothing did at the moment, in the wake of things.

Omega stumbles over his feet, falling to his hands and knees, palms scraping harshly on concrete path. It stings, but not enough. It should hurt so much more, to match the grief and failure that ate away at him like acid.

It didn’t hurt as much as the punches did, no doubt his cheek and abdomen were going to be bruised by the end of the day. And those didn’t hurt  _ nearly _ as much as the wail of anguish that filled the room, drowning out the long drone of the monitor flatlining.

“Fuck,” Omega gasps, ripping his mask from his head with one hand, his other gripping what turns out to be the side of a stone bench. He’s somehow stumbled blindly into one of the many courtyards, this one with a bench near a tree wreathed in long tendrils of wisteria. It was a beautiful, serene place, one that he would love to enjoy on any other day but this one.

The sky should be darkened by boiling storm clouds, thunder and lightning shrieking to the void, shattering the peaceful tranquility.

But no, there was just the quiet drone of insects in the grass, the soft rustle of leaves in the wind. Quiet. Calm.

Omega’s mask falls from his hands and he sits down heavily on the stone bench, feeling numb for a moment before the weight of his failure settles back over him. He leans back, staring blankly into the infinite blue of the sky, left alone with his thoughts.

Would Tide want to see him before he leaves to go back to Hell?  _ No, probably not, _ Omega thinks,  _ why would he? I couldn’t save Mist… I couldn’t even save his kit…  _

“What am I doing here,” he whispers, tears beginning to fill his eyes and drip over his cheeks. “I’m… I’m useless, what’s the point… can’t… can’t even…” The tears turned into sobs, wracking his entire frame till Omega was hunched over himself, pressing his face into his hands. Time loses meaning as he’s overcome with grief, one of his hands sliding up to grip harshly at his short hair. The stinging pain in his scalp as his claws dug into flesh was welcomed, a poor offering for his failure but one he could easily give.  _ I could… could just… let go. End it all, merge myself into the aether. It’d be a slow, painful death… that would be penance enough, surely… _

“O-omega…?” a soft voice trills from nearby, pulling the quintessence ghoul from the morbid turn of his thoughts. His head feels heavier than any physical weight he’s ever carried, becoming a true struggle for him to lift it a few scant inches, eyes rising to find Rain standing a few feet away.

“Wha...what’s wrong,” the water ghoul asks, a thread of worry evident in his voice as he takes in Omega’s pitiful appearance. “Did… did someone  _ hurt _ you?” Rain inches closer, his blue eyes widening behind his chromed mask as he notes the swelling of Omega’s cheek and jaw, the flesh already beginning to purple in a massive bruise.

“No, it’s…” Omega takes a shaky breath but finds the rest won’t come, instead shaking his head then dropping it back to his hands. There’s a soft scuffing of shoes on the path then a tentative hand touches his shoulder, then grips him gently when Omega doesn’t flinch or pull away.

“You can talk to me, please...” Rain’s voice was so soft, as if he were afraid that speaking louder would spook the distraught ghoul. Omega grunts softly as he slumps back, again staring at the sky.  _ What do I say… do I even tell him…? _

“Please,” Rain begs, squeezing his shoulder gently, “you’ve helped me so much, let me help you…” A quiet, sad trill comes from the water ghoul as he shuffles closer, though trying not to invade his personal space too much. Rain cocks his head to the side, leaning his head forward just a fraction as he notices a small difference in his friend: his eyes, though red and still wet with tears, were not the blue he was used to seeing, but instead a deep, vibrant purple. They reminded Rain of an old memory buried in the back of his mind, of a ghoul who had visited his tribe often. Much as it grabs his attention Rain pushes it away, needing to focus on helping his friend rather than daydreaming about a childhood fascination.

Omega sighs, leaning back forward and resting his face in his hands once again, looking between his fingers to the gravel path. He couldn’t take another reaction like Tide’s, the bulky ghoul’s disbelief turning into grief as he lashed out, fist slamming into Omega’s cheek then his gut hard enough to nearly make his knees buckle. Then he threw back his head and screamed until his voice broke, crumpling to the floor sobbing. He wasn’t sure that Rain would hit him or not once he learned how utterly he’s failed, or just fall apart entirely. The young ghoul had become extremely close to Mist, chattering excitedly about her teaching him to play the bass guitar or the coming arrival of her kit. Family units were of great importance to water ghouls, and it seemed that Rain had found something like one with the ghoulette.

“Rain.. I did all I could but… but it wasn’t enough.. I...” he chokes back a sob, sucking in harsh breaths. “I tried so hard...”

“It’s alright, no one will blame you for anything,” Rain tries to assure the distraught ghoul, reaching out to rub gentle circles on his back. “Just let it all out, it’s okay.”

“Mist… went into labor yesterday, everything seemed fine… early, but otherwise fine,” he begins, voice soft and broken. “Something… went wrong, overnight. We don’t know what… by the time they called me back… it was…” Omega swallows hard, closing his eyes for a moment, a fresh wave of tears spilling down his cheeks. “I… I knew I couldn’t save both, at that point so… so I tried to save Mist. And I… I couldn’t even do that. I tried… tried everything I could but… it… it wasn’t…”

Rain goes completely, utterly still in shock, breath catching in his throat. Omega can’t keep the sobs in any longer, completely breaking down and sobbing into his hands. Rain flounders, trying to comprehend what Omega said but it’s as if his whole mind has gone blank, refusing to let the information sink in. He stares blankly at Omega until his brain kicks into something of an automatic mode, latching onto simple ideas and functions in an attempt to not process the ones that hurt.  _ Omega… crying, hurt? Help, comfort, soothe. _

“It’s, it’s okay,” he stutters, reaching out stiffly to pat Omega’s shoulder. Rain sits down next to him, slinging an arm around the bigger ghoul’s shoulders in an attempt to offer solace.They stay like that for a few long minutes until Omega cries himself out, left sniffling softly and taking slow, shaky breaths.

“Thank you,” Omega whispers, feeling so utterly broken and wrung out, an empty shell of a ghoul. When he sits up and looks over to Rain he finds the water ghoul with a blank expression, as if he wasn’t really there at all. Seeing him like that hurts almost just as much as if he’d broken down into sobbing mess like he had, making his heart ache for him. Had he any tears left in him, Omega would have cried for him, for the pain his failure has caused him, but there was nothing more left in him to give.

“The clergy… they’ll no doubt have a… an announcement,” the quintessence ghoul sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “You should… should go back.” Omega reached a hand out and laid it on Rain’s leg, patting it gently before pushing himself to his feet with a soft grunt.

“Back…?” Rain looks so lost and confused, eyes blinking but staring off into nothing.

“To your room,” Omega clarifies gently, reaching down to pick up his mask from where it had fallen earlier. He brushes it off in an attempt to not look and see that look on Rain’s face again, worried it would break what few whole pieces of him that were left.  _ Coward, _ his mind hisses at him, and it’s everything he has left to push the voice away as he slides his mask over his head. When he turns back again Rain is still staring out blankly, blue eyes wide and unseeing his surroundings.

“I’m so sorry,” Omega whispers, reaching out to gently touch the younger ghoul’s shoulder. It’s as if the touch was the catalyst to break the shock, his blue eyes shimmering wetly before he keens softly, pulling his arms around himself and curling into a ball. It breaks his heart all over again and Omega wants nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. But now he knows he can’t, he has to take responsibility for his failure.

“Come on, here,” the quintessence ghoul murmurs, gently gathering Rain up into his arms. Rain feels so light, making Omega worry for a brief moment that he wasn’t getting enough food, but he has to worry about that later. For now he holds him close as he shakes and whimpers, carrying him through the halls and down to his room, managing to avoid any of the other humans or ghouls that might see them. He lays Rain on his bed, carefully pulling his mask off and setting it on his dresser, lingering for a few minutes to sit next to the water ghoul till he cries himself to sleep, gently combing back the messy strands of black hair with his claws.

“I’ll take care of him for you,” Omega murmurs, closing his eyes and reaching out to the aether. There was a soft presence there, like the lingering feeling of someone who had only just moments ago left. It was undefined and he wasn’t able to determine if it was actually some part of Mist lingering yet before returning to the void. Either way, it helped give him a sense of purpose, something to focus on and cling to, pushing away the bleak heaviness of failure and pain.

_ It never ends, just another burden to shoulder. Another name to scribe on your soul with all the others. Living and continuing on, caring for others is your penance, you will not shirk it. _

Omega lets out a soft breath, gazing down at Rain as the water ghoul has finally passed out, spent from the onslaught of emotions and tears. He strokes his hair one last time then pulls away, quietly leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

The summons came that evening, groups of somber sisters and brothers of sin going through the halls and speaking to every ghoul they could find. A kind-faced brother of sin gently shakes Rain awake, making sure he is up and informing him of the meeting. Rain nods mechanically, rising from his bed and cleaning himself up as if on autopilot, scrubbing the salt of dried tears from his face before stuffing the mask on and shuffling out of his room.

The chapel was filled with quiet chatter, the assembled ghouls curious as to the summons they had all been given to attend. Swiss had found Rain and shouldered through the crowd to sit next to him, grumbling softly that this had better be a good reason that he’d been dragged away from his afternoon nap.

“Hey, you alright? You’re quieter than usual,” the fire ghoul asks, noting Rain’s stiff posture as he sits, staring at his hands clenched into fists on his lap. Rain can only shake his head in response, a lump in his throat from the loss that still ached in his chest like an open wound.

“What’s wrong, did someone do something, hurt you? Do you need me to shank a bitch? Cuz I’ve got a shank already made and ready to go.” The fire ghoul was already reaching for his pocket and Rain can only shake his head again, trilling softly as he closes his eyes and focuses on not losing it again.

“Just tell me who it was, I’m your man. What-” Swiss is cut off as the entire room falls silent when an old figure in ornate papal robes is escorted by a small sister of sin. The old man takes a few breaths from an oxygen mask before gripping the lectern in a shaky grasp, a gaze clouded by cataracts sweeping across the chapel. Rain can feel Swiss go stiff then straighten next to him, a soft gasp escaping the loquacious ghoul as the heavy weight of the priest’s gaze passes over them.

“I am Papa Emeritus Zero, known to many of you already as Papa Nihil. You have all been gathered here today, our revered children of Lucifer, to announce with our deepest regrets and grief, the passing of one of your own… the ghoulette Mist, and her kit…”

The rest of the speech fades into white noise as Rain stares down at his clenched fists, silent tears dripping down his face. It’s not until a hand gently grips his shoulder does he snap back to reality, feeling like it’s a true effort to raise his head, to find that the chapel was almost empty, the ghouls all allowed to go off and process the loss of the ghoulette and her kit in what ways they could.

“I’m sorry,” Swiss chokes out, voice thick with tears of his own, “I knew you and her were close…” The fire ghoul can’t finish the sentence, for once in his life at a total loss for words. The two ghouls get to their feet and walk in silence back to their quarters, both of them pausing outside of Rain’s room, a heavy silence between them. Rain is suddenly overwhelmed by the idea of staying alone, needing the feeling of someone else close to keep from falling apart again.

“Please…” he whispers, looking up to Swiss with watery blue eyes, “I… I don’t want to… to be alone right now.” Rain hopes that he doesn’t offend the fire ghoul by asking; they’re friends, sure, but not very close ones. And fire ghouls were notoriously prickly about who they shared their emotions with, who they allowed to see them without their guard up. But he had no one else to turn to, the one ghoul he truly wished to be with him having been absent from the assembly entirely. He watches as Swiss hesitates, heart already sinking and shoulders drooping in defeat as he steels himself for the rejection he knows will come.

“I… yeah,” Swiss swallows, giving Rain a soft look, “I’ll stay awhile.”

Were it not feeling leaden and weighed down by sorrow, Rain’s heart would jump for joy that Swiss felt close enough to stay with him, but as it were all he could feel was a profound sense of relief. Rain shuffles inside his room, holding the door open for Swiss and waiting till it clicked closed behind him to pull off his mask, setting it gingerly on his dresser. When he turns around, he finds Swiss staring at him and it only occurs then that he’s never taken his mask off around the other ghoul before. But Swiss takes it in stride, slowly pulling his own off before giving Rain a small half-smile as he pulls out the clip holding the messy jumble of his hair up. The water ghoul settles onto his bed, watching the other ghoul set his mask next to Rain’s then kick off his shoes, noting his dark tanned skin and warm golden eyes.

Something curls inside his chest, layering itself alongside the aching emptiness left by the passing of Mist, making it feel as if it were hard to breathe. Rain tries to ignore it, shuffling on the bed as Swiss joins him and hesitantly wrapping his arms around him.  _ He’s so warm, _ he thinks, pressing his face into Swiss’s shoulder and trying to not feel as if he were about to break apart into little pieces at any moment.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Swiss croons softly, one hand pressing against his back gently while the other runs through his hair. The fire ghoul settles back onto the bed, pulling Rain along so he can curl around him protectively, the water ghoul’s head tucked under Swiss’s chin. He sighs softly and snuggles into the sheets, both ghouls slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A knock at the door wakes Rain, his mind groggy and aching dully. He wonders for a brief moment if he’d hallucinated Swiss staying with him till a hazy memory of the fire ghoul slowly extracting himself from his clinging arms, murmuring softly that he needed to head back to his own room and would see Rain later. The water ghoul groans softly and staggers from the bed, opening the door to look blearily at whoever had come knocking.

“Yes?” Rain’s voice is rough from hours of crying and intermittent sleep, and he blinks slowly at the ghoul standing in the hallway with a large case and a bag. It takes another moment before he recognizes him, sucking in a sharp breath once he does. “Tide…”

“I… I brought you something,” the big water ghoul said, voice soft and without emotion. He holds out the bag for Rain to take then brings the large case closer. “Mi… Mis… She’d want you to, to have them.” He swallows hard, his red-rimmed eyes dull behind the silver mask.

“What,” Rain begins to ask just as it dawns on him what the items were.  _ Mist’s bass, the box of accessories she had rifled through to find him picks and strings, the booklets of tabs and sheet music.  _ “You, you don’t want to…?”

“No, I… I can’t,” Tide shakes his head slowly, eyes kept away from the guitar case. “I’m leaving… Taking her...  _ them _ , back… back home.”

“Oh…” Rain takes the heavy guitar case gingerly, licking his lips and taking measured breaths to try and keep the tears at bay. “Th-thank you… It, it means a lot to… to me.” Tide nods then turns and walks stiffly down the hall without looking back. Rain’s heart aches for him; though he couldn’t tell if the two ghouls weren’t mated or not, the loss of someone close, and a kit on top of it, was still very hard to handle. Rain takes everything inside, setting the guitar case on his bed and popping open the latches to look forlornly at the instrument. He eventually picks it up, settling the strap over his shoulder and digging a pick out of the bag then closing his eyes and letting his fingers move across the strings. He plays whatever comes to mind, the bits of songs he’d learned, scales, anything he could. The deep thrum of the bass resounds through his body, calming and comforting the raging torrent of his heart and soul.


	6. The Band

There had been a lot of commotion lately, Rain notes. The human clergy didn't seem to dwell long on the loss of Mist and her kit, bouncing quickly to some new gossip or some such, the somber mood quickly dissolved back into the chaotic mess the church always was. It’s confusing and throws him off balance, as the loss still aches deep in his chest and Rain just can’t understand how they couldn’t seem to feel it. He finds the humans so strange in how they flit from one thing to the next like butterflies in a field of flowers.

“Maybe it’s because they don’t live very long,” he wonders out loud, tail twitching as he spies a trio of sisters giggling together as they cast furtive glances at a ghoul across the library.

“Are you done loitering,” a deep, bored voice intones behind him, making the water ghoul jump and give a surprised chirp.

“No, I wasn’t, I mean, I didn’t, uh…” Rain stammers, eyes going wide as he looks up, and up, and  _ up _ , to the steely gray eyes set behind the commonplace silver mask glaring down at him. He remembers being told that an air ghoul-- no, not any old air ghoul, but  _ Air himself _ \-- ran the church’s libraries, and lo and behold just whom Rain ran into.

_ Don’t panic, don’t panic, he can’t hurt you, not here, just, just give him the books and leave _ , Rain tells himself as a tremor starts in his hands, tail curling around one of his legs as he tries to fight down the fear that bubbles up from the pit of his stomach.

“S-s-sorry, I... I uh… here!” Rain squeaks, thrusting the books onto the desk that Air loomed behind and turning to run for the table in the back corner. Omega was waiting for him just like he’d said he would, blinking in surprise as Rain flings himself into his chair, tail coiling around his leg.

“Hey, what’s gotten into you today,” the quintessence ghoul chuckles softly, planting his elbows on the tabletop and leaning on them.

“N-nothing,” Rain mumbles, shifting in his chair and avoiding Omega’s eyes. Just before the older ghoul can question him further a small, blonde-haired sister of sin walks over, carrying two mugs. She hands one to Omega, giving him a shy smile.

“Thank you, Sister Nora.” The quintessence ghoul gives her a smile and nods his head.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had company… I can go make you a cup if you’d like,” she asks Rain, who shakes his head and sinks down further into his seat. She blushes slightly then ducks her head, “I-I’ll go then, if either of you need any help just let me know.”

“Thank you, we will,” Omega smiles, then gives a curious look at Rain who seemed to be doing his best to hide from the imposing figure of Air who had rounded the far bookshelf and seemed intent to come after Rain. Thankfully Nora walks right to him, beaming as she offers the other cup of coffee she’d been holding to the old ghoul, talking softly as he accepts it.They leave and Rain heaves a sigh of relief, straightening up in his chair..

“Oh, Air,” Omega chuckles, having looked back to see what it was that Rain was shrinking away from. “He’s always like that, it’s not just you.”

“O-oh,” mumbles the water ghoul, who then turns his attention back to the quintessence ghoul. “Why are we meeting here, and not the other place?”

“Oh, I had some work I was doing in here, thought maybe a change in scenery would be nice.” Omega shrugs. He pulls out the workbook and sets it on the table, though before he opens the pages he pauses. “I’ve heard something… interesting. It seems that the clergy is going to do another lineup change for the band. I’ve noticed you’ve been playing a lot more, and was wondering if you’d like me to tell them you would be interested in putting your name in for consideration?”

“To… to play in the band?” Rain’s eyes go wide; the more he had learned and heard of the church’s band the more he had begun to wish he could be apart of it, to play with other ghouls and get to leave the stuffy old cathedral. “That would… I want…!!” Rain can’t contain his excitement and hope, speech devolving into a chorus of happy chirps and trills, squirming in his seat.

“I’ll go talk to some people that I know, and we’ll see what happens,” he chuckles at the younger ghoul’s excitement, then flips open the workbook to where they had stopped the previous day. “But first, we’ll pick up where we had left off.”

* * *

“You have some very… impressive recommendations, uh? Omega’s words have considerable weight with the ministry.”

Rain can’t help but shuffle his feet nervous, trying not to slide his fingers along the bass strings. He’d been summoned by the same cardinal he had displayed his glamor to and given an instrument, all out of the blue.

“Do you know any of the band’s songs, or shall I provide you with tabs,” he asks, mismatched eyes watching Rain closely.

“I, I’ve memorized the ones… uh, the ones Mist gave me,” gulped Rain. The intensity of the cleric’s attention made him want to hide or run.

“Oh, surprising. Play one for me, then. Don’t tell me which one, I’ll know it if it is done right.” The cardinal clasps his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for Rain to begin.

The ghoul takes a few calming breaths, closing his eyes and imagining which song he would play. He picks the first one that comes to mind, foot tapping out the rhythm before beginning to play. Rain lets the music take over, everything else in the background fading away, focusing solely on playing and letting the notes resound through him.

“Ah,  _ From the Pinnacle to the Pit _ , a good choice,” the cardinal murmurs, giving Rain a smile that seemed almost predatory, “and, I must say, flawlessly executed.”

“Th-thank you,” Rain chirps, shifting nervously despite the praise.

“Another, if you please,” asks the cardinal, nodding for Rain to continue. Rain bites his lip and focuses back on the strings, thinks of the next song, and starts playing. The cardinal nods as he plays, then asks for another song after he finished, then another, and another, and another before he goes silent. His eyes are hooded and there’s a small smile pulling at his lips. The cardinal’s foot taps against the floor as he thinks, then gives Rain an almost predatory smile that makes him want to shrink away.

“Good. That is all for now,” the cardinal dismisses him with a wave of his hand. “You may return the instrument to its place then go resume your duties.”

Rain can only nod blankly as he carefully slides the strap from his shoulders and places the bass back on its stand before nearly fleeing from the room.

* * *

A week later, a slender ghoul in the typical full-faced silver mask comes into the laundry room where Rain was, yet again, seeing to the delicate pieces of the church’s wardrobe.

“You, Rain,” he calls, his voice soft yet still commanding, “your presence is required by the clergy. Follow me.” The ghoul snaps his fingers then turns on his heel, marching out and leaving Rain to chirp nervously and scramble after him as he frantically rolls his sleeves back down as he goes.

“E-excuse me,” he trills once he catches up to the slender ghoul, still trying to button his cuffs and walk at the same time. “Where are we headed? What’s going on? Am I in trouble?” The water ghoul’s insides churn in unease, worry that something he’s unknowingly done has put him in hot water.  _ What could it even be? I thought I’ve been good… I do my chores, I don’t cause problems… Oh no, maybe Air is still unhappy with me running away from him that day in the library… _

The ghoul, however, does not answer Rain, not even his tail twitching to acknowledge that he’s heard him speak. It’s quite annoying, he thinks, though he won’t bother trying to speak up lest he land himself further in trouble. Finally it seems that they arrive at their destination, the ghoul stopping at a door and waving Rain inside. The water ghoul shuffles in, throwing one last look at the ghoul as the door is pushed shut right behind him before turning to see what awaited him.

The room wasn’t small, though not particularly large. A handful of other ghouls lounged around talking amongst themselves; he noticed that a few had the new mask like his own, one in particular belonging to a familiar ghoul.

“Hey, Rainy! Imagine seeing you here,” Swiss calls out from where he was standing to one side of the room next to what has to be the tallest ghoul Rain has seen in the entire clergy. He raises a hand in greeting, taking a step to go join his friend when one of the other ghouls takes note, turning to glare at Rain through the eyeholes of his mask.

“‘Rain’? A water ghoul?” Despite being small-- shorter than Rain and wiry thin-- his voice is menacing and makes Rain shrink away on instinct.

“Dew, come on now, don’t--” starts the big ghoul next to him, reaching out to grasp the angry ghoul’s shoulder, only for him to pull away from him with a snarl.

“No, why the fuck is he here? I’m the fucking bassist and I’m not letting some spineless little shit take my place!” The smaller ghoul points at Rain and stomps forward only to be pulled back by the big ghoul.

“Hey, that doesn’t mean that--”

“Then what the  _ fuck _ is going on, then? There’s too damn many here to be in the band,” the ghoul growls, turning to glare at the assembled ghouls. “And where’s Ifrit, huh? And Aer?”

There is a long moment of silence as the ghouls all look back and forth between each other. Just as the small ghoul was going to start up again the door opens and the ghoul that had escorted Rain there enters, carrying a clipboard and standing near the door with his back straight. A moment later the cardinal that Rain recognized as the one he played for enters, shutting the door before turning and regarding the ghouls with a small smile as he rubbed his hands together.

“Ah, you are all here, good,” he announces, mismatches eyes darting over each figure. “I am sure you have some questions but--”

“What the fuck is going on,” the small ghoul snarls again, the big ghoul again having to pull him back from lunging at the cardinal, mumbling apologies as he wraps his thick arms around the smaller ghoul to hold him still, ignoring how his tail slaps against his legs.

“Right to the chase, I see. Very well.” The cardinal plucks at the cuffs of his sleeves then clasps his hands at the small of his back, head tilting back just so to give the impression he was looking down at them.

“There are some changes being implemented to the band. First and foremost being the removal of the third Emeritus, as consequence for his role in failing to prevent our recent tragedy.” The ghouls all shift slightly at the reference to the passing of Mist, Rain wrapping his arms around himself and looking at the floor.

“But, sir... Who will be singing if not him? Will the second be coming back,” the big ghoul asks.

“Unfortunately not, and neither will his elder sibling the first. Instead the new frontman will be myself, Vincenzo Copia, having been chosen by Sister Imperator herself and approved by Papa Nihil.” The cardinal gives them all a pleased smile before continuing on, noting the shocked look of their eyes behind their masks. “Also there are some…  _ larger _ , changes. The church wishes to expand its influence, and as such we must…  _ elevate _ , the show. Bigger venues and stages, larger crowds, longer setlists...” He gives a dramatic pause before grinning at the ghouls and then gesturing to them with one hand. “...more  _ musicians _ .”

“I know all of you had been wondering why we brought you all here, and so many of you at that. To the new faces, I welcome you to the band Ghost. To those chosen to return, you have done excellent work, and we look forward to you only getting better. The assignments are as such,” he says, holding a hand out to the ghoul behind him who hands over the clipboard he’d been holding. “Mountain, returning as our drummer. Mistral and Zephyr, my two lionesses, have been chosen to play the keyboards and to sing. Aether, returning as rhythm guitarist. The water ghoul Rain shall be on the bass. And for our two fire ghouls…” He gives another dramatic pause, the two ghouls in question seemingly holding their breath for the announcement, “Swiss, you shall be backing vocals and guitar. Dewdrop, congratulations, you are promoted to lead guitar.”

The ghouls all start to chatter amongst themselves excitedly, with the small fire ghoul staring in disbelief for a few long moments then snorting and folding his arms over his chest.

“Now, with that addressed, Special here,” the cardinal waves to the ghoul behind him, passing back the clipboard, “will go over what other details there are. Band rehearsals will begin the day after tomorrow, and I shall see you all then.” With one last nod to them all the cardinal sweeps out of the room in a swirl of his red robes. Special sighs softly and pinches the bridge of his mask’s nose, muttering something to himself before stepping forward and flipping through the papers on the clipboard.

“Right, so… New rooming assignments, you get a day to move and get your things together…”

* * *

Rain is glad he still has his own room, having grabbed his meager pile of possessions and gone to the wing of the church he’d been told to move to. The band ghouls had so much more space allocated to them; the bedrooms were larger and each had a bathroom, they had their own practice room with their instruments, even a small kitchen and a common room to share amongst themselves. The luxury of it all boggled the water ghoul’s mind, often leaving him gawking at things at random moments.

And being so close to other ghouls was another new addition. Sure, the dorm he’d lived in previously had been all ghouls, and he spent all his meals with them, but being  _ this _ close to a group of others was different entirely. Rain enjoyed the closeness, had missed the tight-knit community of his tribe back home, though there were some exceptions.

Dewdrop was one, though after he’d had a few days to learn his mannerisms Rain had a basic idea of how to handle him. His moods were turbulent, though, making it a challenge for Rain to get a good grasp on it. Thankfully, Aether was always on hand to calm him down, either by deflecting his more violent moods to himself or soothing them away with soft touches and words murmured into the smaller ghoul’s ear.

The other was, surprisingly to the rest of the band ghouls, the two ghoulettes.

For air ghouls they were friendly, especially small and bubbly Zephyr with her habit of changing her hair color every week. The taller ghoulette, Mistral, was much more subdued in contrast, though she was far from the icy coldness of Air. They had no problem fitting in with the band, always willing to chat or tease their fellow ghouls, or sometimes even offer a bit of womanly advice.

Rain couldn’t help but seize up every time either of them would enter the room, unconsciously shrinking down and away, as if he were trying to hide from them. Swiss noticed the behavior first, being the one ghoul Rain knew best and tended to hang out with the most.

“Is there… something going on between you and the girls,” the fire ghoul asks one day as they are both sitting in their common room with Mountain. They’d been debating about some cheesy TV show they’d watched when both ghoulettes had come in from working on their synthesizer setups and Rain immediately seized up, tail coiling around his leg. The ghoulettes call out a greeting and wave at the three ghouls as they head back to their own rooms, Rain sighing in relief once they hear the doors close down the hall.

“You get all weird whenever you see them,” Swiss points out.

“I, uh…” Rain mumbles, ducking his head and rubbing at his neck. He’s not quite able to summon the words to explain it, instead shaking his head and staring at his feet.

“It’s cool, just curious, you know,” Swiss shrugs, noting how Rain doesn’t seem too keen on answering. Mountain’s head tilted just a fraction in curiosity though he doesn’t say anything, following the fire ghoul’s lead and dropping the subject and going back to what they had been talking about before the interruption.

Rain’s hope that his apprehension of the ghoulettes would be swept under the rug doesn’t last, unfortunately.

“What’s your problem,” Dewdrop snaps during rehearsal one afternoon, the ghouls going over their parts after Copia had to leave to deal with some matter or other.

“Uh?” Rain flinches away from the angry tone, blinking in confusion at Dewdrop. “What do you mean? Did I get the notes wrong? I thought I had them all…”

“No, you played fine,” the smaller ghoul huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “What’s your problem with Zephyr and Mistral? You run from them as if they were going to eat alive, and you shy away from that part of the stage. Whatever dumb shit you have going on, fix it. We can’t have that going on once the tour starts.”

“I-I don’t… don’t know w-what--” Rain stammers, only for Dewdrop to stamp his foot and stalk closer, a clawed finger pointed menacingly at Rain’s chest.

“Fix it.  _ Now _ ,” hisses Dewdrop. The other ghouls stare in disbelief at the scene, a collective breath held amongst them.

“It, it’s not  _ them _ ,” Rain whimpered, shrinking back away from the fire ghoul. “It’s just… B-back home, we were… We were told to stay away from the air tribes. B-because one, one kidnapped m-my mother and… and n-nearly k-killed her…”

Even Dewdrop’s eyes widen at the admission and a soft, sympathetic sound comes from the two ghoulettes. Aether lets out a held breath and coughs quietly to gather everyone’s attention. “No one will hurt you here, Rain, I promise. Why don’t you call it a day, go relax a little bit, yeah?” He smiles gently at the water ghoul then looks up at the rest of the band. “We could all do with a break today, anyways. We’re making good progress. We’ll pick it back up tomorrow.”

There’s a chorus of murmured assent as the ghouls start to shuffle around and put their instruments away. Aether pats Rain on the shoulder gently and takes his bass from him to place on its stand, then turns to look at Dewdrop.

“Not you,” Aether tells the smaller ghoul, who looks like he’s about to argue with him. “You have more solos to learn, Mr. Lead Guitar.” Dewdrop’s eyes narrow then he huffs, running his fingers up his strings and turning on his heel.

“Fine,” he grumps, walking back to look at a sheaf of tabs as Aether waves everyone else out.

* * *

“Everything alright?”

Rain looks up from the workbook to see a concerned look on Omega’s face then quickly drops his eyes back to the page.

“It’s… I’m fine,” he hedges, carefully scrawling out the sentence in the way he thinks it would be said. His penmanship still had a long way to go, the letters small and spidery, barely legible to the untrained eye, and was another area Omega was slowly working with him on.

“Is there a problem with the band,” Omega asks, elbows on the table and leaning forward.

“Uh, it’s… it’s just a lot to get used to…” It’s not a lie really, that part was true enough. Rain just didn’t want to have to make Omega worry more about him, and didn’t want to have to dredge back up the mess of emotions regarding the air ghoulettes. But also…

“And I, I just... Miss our lessons, you know?” Rain chews on his bottom lip before looking up, giving Omega a shaky smile.

“I miss them, too,” Omega chuckles, reaching out to ruffle the water ghoul’s hair. Alone, they now left their masks off, having grown closer together since the passing of Mist, even though Rain joining the band meant their meetings were now only once a week or so. Rain still cherishes the lessons for the time he gets to spend with the aether ghoul, a warm, fluttery feeling filling his chest when he sees Omega seated in their usual spot.

“The band is fun, so far. I like playing, and the other ghouls are… uh, interesting?” Shifting in his seat Rain traces the seam of the workbook with a claw. The older ghoul tilts his head curiously, noting the slight apprehension in Rain’s voice.

“Do they treat you well? If you need me to speak to any of them…”

“Oh, no! I-it’s fine! Really,” Rain chirps, looking a little startled. “I’m just… not really used to, uhm, fire ghouls…”

“Oh,” chuckles Omega, giving Rain a smile. “They can be quite a handful, for sure. Sometimes it’s better to just let them have their way, but not trample you. Just watch them and see how they react to things, waiting is worth the effort to keep them from snapping.”

“I’ll do that, thanks,” Rain smiles before looking back down at the book, picking his pen back up and continuing to scrawl away, happy to enjoy Omega’s company. It feels as if the time passes twice as fast with him, though, and soon it’s time for him to head back for practice. There’s a heavy feeling in his chest when he waves to Omega as they part to go their separate ways, causing Rain to drag his feet as he heads to his room.

He finds something interesting waiting for him when he stops by his room to put away his workbook. On his desk was a box with his name written on a note attached to the top, which he pulls off then opens the box. Inside were what he assumed were cookies from the smell, cut out in the shape of raindrops and colored with a blue icing. He looks at the note as he reaches for one, munching away as he reads it.

“ _ Rainy- _

_ We’re sorry for what happened to your mom, and we promise that we would never, ever, hurt you. Here’s some sweets we made today-- don’t worry, they aren’t poisoned or anything. Swiss ate half of them before we could ice them and he’s his same old self. We want to get to know you better, and we hope that you enjoy playing in the band with us! _

_ <3, _

_ Zephyr and Mistral _ ”

“Oh,” Rain chirps softly, looking back from the cookies to the note. It was a kind gesture, and it was hard for him to turn down sweets… Looking at his phone he notices he’s almost late for practice, quickly shoving another cookie in his mouth before running out the door.

* * *

“There’s a bar in town and we’ve been given permission to leave the church grounds, wanna come with,” Swiss asks, sticking his head into Rain’s room. The water ghoul looks up from the magazine he’d snatched from Zephyr’s room then scrambles to hide it, chittering and blushing.

“Dude, it’s fine that you’re reading Zeph’s shitty gossip mags,” laughs the fire ghoul, sauntering inside and snatching it up. Rain squawks and lunges for it, but Swiss moves too fast as he flips through the pages.

“Oooh, look, shitty candid photos of shitty celebrities. Riveting,” he snickers, then tosses it back to the bed. “So, you in? The girls and Mountain are all going. Be a good introduction to mingling with the human masses.”

“Oh, uh… Sure,” Rain chirps, stuffing the magazine under his pillow after looking toward the open door. “What about Aether and Dewdrop? Are they not going?”

“Eh, said they’d rather have some peace and quiet tonight.” Swiss snickers, waggling his eyebrows at Rain, who only looks at him with confusion. “Means they gonna be fucking hard and loud, and don’t want to give us a show. Also probably means that Dew is gonna be taking it then.”

“Oh.” Rain rubs a hand over his neck then shrugs. He still doesn’t know the prickly guitarist very well, but with his violent mood swings and constant aggression Rain understands very much how he’d not want something like that being seen or heard were he like Dewdrop.

“Cool, they gave you some regular clothes, didn’t they? Change and meet us out in the common room and we can all go,” said Swiss, who then saunters out of the room just as fast as he’d come in.

* * *

The bar wasn’t large by Rain’s standards, but he’s only ever really eaten meals in the large dining hall in the church and this place was a welcome change. The ghouls, all properly kitted out in their human glamor and clothing, converge on a large round table. Mountain, being the only ghoul amongst them to have mingled with humanity in more fashion that just the siblings of sin, goes with Swiss to order them food and drinks, hanging out at the bar till it’s ready.

“They’re very… close,” Rain notes, speaking more to himself than anything as he watches the fire ghoul leaning so that he’s pressed hip to hip against the drummer.

“Oh, we know that, honey. At least Mountain knows the best, and easiest, way to shut Swiss up,” Mistral murmurs, giving Rain a sly smile.

“He’s got no gag reflex to be able to fit all of  _ that _ down his throat, to be sure,” Zephyr snickers, winking at Rain before reaching over to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her fellow ghoulette’s ear. He’s still not used to being around them, the old fear and warnings hammered into him by his tribe about air ghouls still fresh in his mind despite constant reassurance that they would never lift a finger against him. He was slowly beginning to trust them more, though, as every so often they would leave him little gifts: more cookies, something shiny they’d found in the church, even a bag of some brightly colored and scented bath bombs. Slowly but surely the two ghoulettes had inched their way into Rain’s confidence, as he slowly began to spend more and more time around them.

Rain sits at their table, watching the two ghoulettes giggling and chatter softly between each other, eyes occasionally darting back to Swiss and Mountain as they start to gather up their order. A strange feeling settles heavy in his gut as he watches them, the only one to not have a partner in their group.

_ I wish I had someone. I wonder if… No, probably not… _

He has to shake his head to rid himself of the thought, running his fingers through his hair to disguise the action, worried the ghoulettes would pick up on his unease. Thankfully Mountain and Swiss return with their food as Mistral pulls out the card game she’d insisted they try to play as a way to learn their fellow bandmates a little better.

"Let's start small, then. If you don’t answer, you have to take a shot of whatever drink the others decide on," Mistral explains as Mountain and Swiss join them, the earth ghoul setting the plates in the center of the table while Swiss hands out cold glasses of beer. They all wait till everyone is settled in their seats and munching away, Zephyr shuffling the small deck of cards then setting it on the middle between the plates.

"I'll go first," she offers, picking up the top card and looking at the writing on it. "'What's your favorite food?' Oh, that's tame. I'd have to say cotton candy."

"You would," Mistral laughs, sipping at her beer. "I think mine is ratatouille."

“Hamburgers, gotta be hamburgers,” goes Swiss, shoving a handful of fries in his mouth.

Mountain rolls his eyes, “You said it was fried chicken last week.”

“Hey, tastes change my friend. Last week was fried chicken, this week is hamburgers.” The fire ghoul grins, the elbows Rain gently in the shoulder. “Your turn, bubbles.”

“I… uh… I dunno,” Rain mumbles, eyes wide as he watches everyone, trying not to eat everything and be a glutton.

“Don’t know? Come on, you gotta like something best,” Swiss prods, waggling a mozzarella stick in Rain’s direction. The water ghoul chews on his bottom lip as he thinks, squirming in his chair at being the center of attention.

“I uh, I guess… fish?” Rain never really put a thought to what his favorite food was, always the ghoul to happily eat whatever he was given.

“A water ghoul, through and through,” Zephyr giggles, then throws a french fry at Mountain. “Your turn, big guy.”

“Fondant potatoes,” the tall ghoul replies, without hesitation. Mistral and Zephyr make a face at him, the smaller ghoulette looking confused.

“Fondant? That sweet icing stuff? On Potatoes? Gross.” She shudders and takes a drink of her beer, as if to wash the imaginary taste of the idea away.

“No, not sugar. They’re fried in butter and roasted. Savory, not sweet,” Mountain sighs. “I’ll have to make some for you some time, they’re very good...”

The evening wears on, the food all eaten up and beers refilled as they keep going, occasionally the group bursting out in a loud fit of laughter as they answer a range of questions from silly to sexual, learning all manner of things of their fellow ghouls.

“Oh, here’s an interesting one, ‘Are you or have you ever been in love?’ I’d have to say ‘no’, to this one.” Mistral gives a one shoulder shrug and a dismissive wave of her hand then points at Rain. “What about you? Have  _ you _ ever been in love?”

It’s a wholly unexpected question, prompting Rain to pause and think, tilted his head to the side as he combs through his memory.

_ The feeling of warm, calloused hands on his chest, soothing away the burns from the blessed lake water. The hazy memory of a scarred back and helping rub salve into the damaged skin, of hours passed sitting and waiting for him to wake. The glowing feeling that buoys him when he wakes and smiles, thick fingers ruffling his hair affectionately. The quiet replendance of a childhood fascination tempered with time into passion. _

“Yes,” Rain says into his beer, smiling softly and blushing.

“Oooh, aren’t you just so cute,” Zephyr croons. “Who is it, you got yourself a pretty lil thing to go back to in Hell? Or are  _ you _ the pretty lil thing?”

“Oh!” Rain’s head jerks up and he blushes harder, rubbing a hand through the back of his hair. “N-no… uh, we, we haven’t seen him for a long while.”

“Aww, how sweet! I, for one,” Swiss laughs, then stands up from his chair and gestures grandly, “am completely  _ besotted _ with the most handsome, loving, talented--”

“Who wants refills,” Mountain interrupts, lumbering to his feet and skittering away to the bar, his face beet red.

“Babe, wait, I’m not done yet,” Swiss whines after the drummer, flopping into his chair and leaning back to reach out to the retreating ghoul dramatically. The group all burst out laughing at him as he pouts, trying to sit in the drummer’s lap when he returns with a fresh round of drinks. Mountain isn’t having any of it, pushing Swiss back into his own seat and giving him a harsh glare till the fire ghoul gives up with a dramatic sigh. 

When they all totter back to the church, most of them are moderately drunk. The worst off, oddly enough, was Mountain, the tall drummer leaning heavily on Swiss as they stumbled back into the church. It took the fire ghoul as well as Rain and Mistral, to get the earth ghoul into his bed when he ended up falling asleep in the common room, and much as Swiss threatened to leave him to sleep on the floor, he made sure they got him tucked in just fine.

Rain flopped onto his own bed, head delightfully buzzed from the beers he drank, though that lonesome feeling creeps back in. It slowly carves a hollow into his chest, one that aches and begs to be filled though he has naught to put in it.

_ Waiting is silly, you’re just hurting yourself more clinging to him. You’ll never see him again. He left so long ago, whatever makes you think he’d come back? Or is even alive? _ After another long moment of staring up at the ceiling he sighs in resignation.  _ It’s true. Maybe… maybe it’s time to let go of him. Let go of that hope you’ve clung to for your whole life. Have someone else take that place you’ve made for him in your heart. Let Omega-- _

“If only,” Rain sighs, letting his eyes slip shut. He drifts off to sleep eventually, dreaming of soft blue eyes and a warm gentle voice. Of A presence in black and silver standing at his side, quiet and compassionate.

* * *

Rain thought it would be the crowds that would worry him the most about the tour. And perhaps maybe the first one was, being in what felt like a tiny place crammed full of with a screaming, writhing mass of humanity. It took every bit of his concentration and self control to just focus on the music and ignore the crowd, mechanically following all the rehearsed steps and motions, hands moving across the strings on autopilot as his brain disconnected. It meant he was stiff, motions jerky though his playing was spot-on, as if he were some kind of automaton programmed to play his instrument instead of a flesh and blood being.

No, what worried Rain most was their lead guitarist, Dewdrop.

Prone to snapping at anyone at any given moment, it seemed as though the fire ghoul had decided his main target would be Rain. Mostly it was just little things, smartass remarks that would startle or embarass him, but sometimes Dewdrop would get in his face, hissing and snarling till Aether would happen upon them and pull him away.

When he stood back waiting for his cue before Cirice for the first time, he was quite intrigued by this 'guitar battle' thing Aether and Dewdrop were doing. This hadn't been rehearsed before, at least not with the whole band, and was the first time he'd seen anything of it. It seemed fun and Rain wished he could participate in something similar. That is, till he watched Dewdrop nearly chase the quintessence ghoul off the stage and throw his guitar pick at him, actually managing to hit Aether with it from across the stage. Rain quickly decided that he was just fine staying to himself.

Occasionally Dewdrop would get into a mood, where he seemed to just sulk, ignoring everything around him and stare out the windows, snapping at whoever tried to speak to him or would just walk too close to his seat. Rain begins to notice those moods coincide with when Aether would spend an extended time with the Cardinal. Being the most senior of the ghouls, Aether would often spend a few hours with Copia while they were on the road, no doubt speaking on specifics of the tour Rain assumed.

He found it interesting how different Dewdrop would act when Aether was absent and then would nearly attack the big ghoul when he would return, his mood turning nearly violent. Yet Aether always dealt with it with a calm, even tone, wrapping big arms around the fire ghoul till he thrashed himself tired. Then he’d lead the guitarist away to someplace private, be it a dressing room at their most recent venue, a hotel room on the nights they had one, or the back lounge of the bus that he could close off from the rest of the ghouls. Whatever it was that Aether did to him, Dewdrop would be a little more subdued the next time Rain would see him, though there was never an apology for whoever had been subject to Dewdrop’s most recent tantrum.

Perhaps it was his due to his palpable apprehension and anxiety, but he found himself spending more and more time with the ghoulettes. Zephyr would share the gossip magazines with him that she’d grab whenever they stopped for a break and Mistral made sure he had eaten or had enough to eat. Slowly his trepidation for the girls faded till it was gone entirely, seeing them not as something to be feared but more as protective older sisters or doting aunts. They had even begun to let him sit with them as they would read, either sharing the book they were reading with him or letting him curl up with his head in one of their laps and nap lightly, enjoying the little oasis of quiet on the bus.

He’d gotten much closer to Swiss as well, both on and off stage. The fire ghoul was boisterous and good-natured, and while he would enjoy the occasional prank it was never something serious or damaging. And Rain certainly noticed just how much Swiss enjoyed the attention of the crowd. Hips swinging and swaying, always moving in his little corner next to Mountain. Occasionally Rain would sneak over during a song or two to play near him, enjoying the fun, chaotic energy surrounding that little part of the stage. And he’d hang out with him and Mountain when they were allowed to go sightseeing, the drummer keeping a watchful eye on the two ghouls who were seeing and experiencing so many things for the first time.

They’re all wandering through a city with a bunch of museums, gawking at all the different things to see and people all around them, when Rain comes to a realization. He’s standing back watching Swiss puzzle over the varieties of taxidermied animals in one museum, an odd feeling twisting in his chest. He’d felt it a few times before around the fire ghoul, and finally he was able to understand what it was: he had a crush on Swiss.

But then Mountain comes weaving through the crowd to sidle up next to the multi-instrumentalist, slinging an arm around the shorter ghoul’s waist. It’s like having a bucket of ice water dumped over his head, extinguishing the little flame of hope before it could really become much of anything. It leaves Rain feeling acutely aware of how solitary he was, being the one ghoul in the band to not have a partner of some kind. Zephyr had Mistral, Dewdrop had Aether, and Swiss had Mountain. There was no room for him in any of those dynamics, making the loneliness he often felt ache deeper than ever. It makes it feel hard to breathe just looking at Swiss and Mountain, and he silently slips into the stream of humanity to make his way back outside, skittering away till he finds himself at another monument of some sort, making his way through the crowds to see a long expanse of still water before him. He stares at it for awhile, eventually pulling out his phone and hovering a finger over a name, desperately wanting to hear the soft rumble of that calm, soothing voice yet unable to make himself click the button. The phone makes a decision for him, the screen going dark then clicking off to leave him staring forlornly down at the black screen.

Then it lights up again, beeping as he receives a text message:

(Swiss): whr u at??

Rain sighs, not wanting to bother his bandmates but also not wanting to worry them either. He lies, sending Swiss a message that he left something back on the bus and would meet them later for lunch. The fire ghoul takes the bait easily, sending him back a series of emojis in confirmation, leaving Rain to again stare at his phone screen. He takes a breath, closes his eyes and lets it out slow, finger tapping on the screen.

It feels like his heart is beating so fast it would burst as the line rings, hurriedly bringing the phone up to his ear then nearly dropping it when the line clicks open, a moment of muffled silence before a voice answers, “...Hello?”

“O-Omega,” Rain chirps, swallowing hard as his gut twists with anxiety, wrapping his free arm tightly around his waist.  _ Please don’t hang up, I just need to hear your voice, please just… _

“Rain? Are you alright? Is something wrong?” Though there’s some distortion over the line Rain can hear the worry in the quintessence ghoul’s voice, and for some reason that seems to be what he needed to hear.  _ He cares about you, see? He wouldn’t be worried about you if he didn’t… _

“Um, I… I just… miss home,” he blurts out, biting his lip and closing his eyes.  _ I miss you, _ he almost says, though he’s able to bite his tongue to keep it in. “Talking to you… h-helps. Do you have time to…?”

“Ah,” the older ghoul chuckles. “Yeah. It’s been pretty dull here since you all left. Antonio, er, Papa III has been sulking since being removed as frontman from the band pretty bad.”

“Eh, Papa? But… didn’t he… they… uh…” Rain stammers, remembering watching with the rest of the band ghouls as the clear cases with the bodies of the previous anti-popes were unloaded from the truck to be set up for viewing.

“Oh, that?” Omega laughs, the deep rumbling easing the tension coiled tight all throughout Rain even from thousands of miles away. “Those are just some mannequins, they wouldn’t  _ actually _ kill them, they’ve too much popularity and standing within the church. But it does make for good publicity.”

“So… so they aren’t… dead?”

“No, they’re just fine. Antonio may bitch and moan that he’d be better off that way, but they are all perfectly fine,” the quintessence ghoul assures Rain before switching topics. “How is everything going? The tour going alright?”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s good. Very, uh… busy. Stressful. There’s so many people…”

They talk for a long while, Rain going over all the things from the tour while Omega spoke about anything going on in the church, the idle chatter having settled Rain down immensely. The loneliness was still there, a part of him aching acutely at not being physically close to Omega, but being able to speak to him helped him be able to control it better. He didn’t feel so hollow inside any longer, his insides no longer twisted and knotted together with anxiety as a soft warmth settles within him.

The phone vibrates to signal another text message, this one Swiss telling him to meet them at some place for lunch, signaling his time to talk was over.

“I, I gotta go find the others,” Rain sighs, wanting to just keep talking to Omega for as long as possible. “Can… can I call you again…?”

“Sure you can. You can message me all you want if we can’t call, how does that sound? Now go have fun, enjoy seeing everything you can.” Rain can practically hear the smile on Omega’s face as they say their goodbyes, a similar one plastered on his own face when the line clicks dead.

* * *

“Where have you been, little puddle,” Mistral asks when Rain comes jogging up, joining his fellow ghouls at a table in a park. There was a wide variety of food containers in the middle and they were all eating from them, sharing the food like they would do most nights back in the church.

“I left my stone in the bus,” the water ghoul chirps, fishing out the small polished black stone from his pocket and showing it off. It had become a habit for Rain to keep the stone with him at all times, fingers rubbing over the smooth surface to help him calm down and focus when he’d begin to feel overwhelmed. “Then, I saw this big thing and wanted to know what it was, then there was this other big thing, and then there was this big pool of water with another big thing at the other end…”

“Ooh, found all sorts of places, did you,” Zephyr laughs, handing Rain a soda as she scoots over to make a seat for him between her and Mountain. Across from them Swiss was chattering at a very annoyed looking Dewdrop, waving a french fry in the smaller guitarists face.

“Where’s Aether,” Rain asks, grabbing a fork and digging into a container of what looks like some kind of grilled meat. He notices Dewdrop’s face scrunches up at the mention of the rhythm guitarist and shrinks back instinctively, though Zephyr pats his leg gently.

“The Cardinal needed him for some matter or other, you know how it goes,” Mistral informs him, shrugging and giving him a smile as she passed him a small styrofoam box. “Got these just for you, puddle.”

“Oh, fish!” Rain chirps happily as he opens the box, finding some fried fillets inside which he tears into with gusto. The ghoulettes both giggle at him, the group enjoying the meal and chattering together amicably. Then as usual, Swiss and Dewdrop start fooling around, the larger fire ghoul teasing and trying to get Dewdrop out of his bad mood only to have it backfire. The two end up throwing sauce packets and random items at each other, though as Dew grabs a cup of something Swiss makes a break for it and runs behind the other ghouls. Dewdrop does not waste the ammunition he’d picked up, however, and tosses it across the table only for it to hit Rain in the face and splatter sauce all over him.

There’s a lot of yelling, Rain squawking and sputtering indignantly, though after a moment he’s trying to lick the sauce from his face and clothes.

“Damnit, Dewdrop,” Mistral huffs, grabbing a handful of napkins to help clean Rain up. “You don’t fucking throw shit at people, got it?”

“He fucking started it!” Dewdrop points an accusatory finger at Swiss, who was now hiding behind Mountain in case any other foodstuffs went flying. Though, there was a hint of a smile tugging at Dewdrop’s mouth, and he looks decidedly less angry now.

“I’ll just got back to the bus and change,” Rain decides, having poured a bottle of water through his hair and shook it to get out any sauce from the dark locks. Unfortunately his shirt was a lost cause, whatever was in the sauce leaving greasy smears in the fabric that would need some detergent to get out.

“We’ll meet you back here then, alright,” Zephyr sighs, turning to give the two fire ghouls a fierce glare. Rain nods, scampering back through the throngs of people and across the streets till he got to where the buses were parked, pulling his shirt off before boarding the ghoul’s bus. Tossing the shirt onto a seat he wanders back toward the bunks, noting that the privacy screen was pulled mostly shut to the back lounge. Rain advances silently, snatching a spare shirt from his bunk before leaning toward the screen, picking up soft sounds barely audible over some low music. The scent of sweat and sex emenates from the lounge and inching closer he’s able to peer through the small opening.

His eyes widen at the sight inside, catching first on dark grey skin, horns, and tail all free from their glamour, then on the intricate mandala lines tattooed in dark ink across broad shoulders and back. Then his eyes slide to the pale-skinned legs wrapped around Aether’s waist, covered in coarse dark hair. With every thrust of Aether’s hips there comes a soft muttering of Italian from his partner, the soft, melodic voice easily giving away who the quintessence ghoul’s partner was. Rain backs away slowly and soundlessly, easing the door shut on the bus to keep from alerting neither Aether nor Copia of his presence. He pulls his clean shirt on then jogs back to the others, a heavy feeling in his gut that he’d seen something he really should not have.

* * *

It’s in the dark hours of the night, the bus rumbling on silently beneath them, and Rain was unable to sleep. His mind was turbulent, fixating on the scene of Aether fucking Copia that he’d accidentally stumbled upon earlier in the day. He felt bad for Dewdrop, knowing that the small ghoul was very attached to Aether and that fire tribes did not like sharing things they considered theirs… including partners. Rain wonders idly if Dewdrop is so sulky when Aether isn’t around because he just doesn’t like being without him, or if he knows anything at all about Copia and Aether being together…

There’s a soft blip and his phone screen lights the bunk with a soft glow as he receives a notification, pulling his mind away from his thoughts for a moment. Rain picks it up and opens the screen, heart jumping as he finds a message from Omega waiting for him. He clicks it open and watches the candid video of Alpha asleep in the pew next to Omega, then it pans over to Papa I droning on placidly from the pulpit, a caption on the screen reading ‘ _ See? Still alive and boring the masses. _ ’

Rain giggles softly, and in a moment of spontaneity he clicks on his camera, fiddling with the adjustments and takes a selfie, smiling tiredly at the camera and captioning it ‘ _ that’s good, glad to know Alpha won’t be losing any sleep then. _ ’ He doesn’t give a thought to the idea that the picture might look a bit suspect, his cheeks a little flushed and his bare shoulders visible, giving Omega bedroom eyes.

Rain is finally able to drift to sleep afterward, mind again put at ease by the big ghoul who has begun to settle in the space in his heart that once held another.


	7. Respite

“It’s a surprise,” Omega chuckles, when Rain shows up for their lesson since returning from the tour, looking confused to find no books on the desk but instead a large wicker basket.

“For what,” the water ghoul asks, stepping close and reaching out to poke at the basket. Omega gently pushes his hand away and shakes his head at him, giving Rain one of his soft smiles.

“You’ve done a great job on tour, and I’ve already gotten it approved by the Cardinal,” he chuckles, hefting the strap around the basket and carrying it over his shoulder. “The basket is a nice picnic lunch, and it’s only part of the surprise.”

“Pic… nic? What’s that,” Rain asks, following Omega as they leave the study and wind their way down the halls.

“A picnic,” Omega explains, once they’ve left the church through a side door, “is when you take a meal to go eat outside with someone. Humans make it into something of a special occasion.”

“Oh! It sounds fun,” Rain chirps, excited for not only the food, but for Omega’s company as well. He’d missed the quintessence ghoul dearly while out on tour, and had been delighted to know that their lessons were still allotted in both the ghoul’s scheduling.

“It thought you’d enjoy it, get away from all the hustle and bustle and give you a bit of time to decompress after the tour. Lucifer knows it helped me when we’d get back… though, I never had anyone to take with me then.” Omega smiles softly as he reminisces back to the days when he’d be on the road with one of the Papas and his fellow ghouls, and the days he’d spend along laying outside in a secluded spot and enjoying the silence after so long cooped up on the tour bus where solitude was a scarce commodity.

“Thank you,” Rain chirps again, blushing under his mask. His insides are all squiggly again, amazed at just how Omega knows what he needs most and goes out of his way to help him. He desperately wants to hug him, to hold him close and nuzzle at his neck, to find some way to show how much he means to him, but…  _ What if he’s just being nice? What if this is something he does for more than just you? Don’t make it awkward, don’t mess this one nice thing you have up. Don’t let this stupid lonliness push you to do something dumb, just because all the others in the band have someone except you. Being just friends is nice, friends is enough. Don’t ruin it. _

They fall into a companionable silence as they walk, Omega leading him through the orchards and fields in the back of the church to the outlying forest. Rain chirps and trills softy as they walk under the trees, tail swishing and curling in on itself in interest as he looks around; he’d never been allowed off the church grounds save for going on tour, and the couple of supervised trips into town with his bandmates, and was excited just to get to see something new. After walking for some time the forest starts to thin, eventually letting them out into a clearing. Rain feels it before he can see it, the quiet murmur of water that resonates deep in his soul, and let's out an excited chirp. He breaks out into a run, dashing past Omega and runs forward, finding a lake with crystal clear water hiding nestled deep in forest. There's a pier of old, dark wood that juts out across the water, the planks creaking under Rain's feet but still holding fast despite their apparent age. The water ghoul could barely contain himself from vaulting over the edge and into the water, remembering that he was still wearing his uniform and instead crouching at the end, looking out into the watery depths with a look of fascination and longing.

“It’s nice, isn’t it,” Omega asks, voice soft as he smiles at Rain. “You can swim before we eat, I know you miss it.” Rain chirps happily, tail wriggling in excitement as he wastes no time pulling his mask off then tackling his other clothes. Omega takes each garment so Rain doesn’t have to worry about folding them or accidentally dropping them into the water, a warm feeling pooling in his gut as the water ghoul strips himself bare. “And, you can drop all your glamor too. No need to be hidden here, I promise.”

“I can…” Rain breathes, blue eyes going wide as he looks up at the older ghoul, heart beating fast in his chest.

“Go on, it’s fine,” Omega nods, settling Rain’s mask on top of the pile of his clothes and picking his shoes up in his other hand. “No one will know, only I know of this place, and am allowed out of the church grounds this far unattended really. I want you to be able to unwind a bit, you’ve been really tense since coming back from the tour.” The quintessence ghoul gives him a soft smile, seen only as the crinkling of the skin around his eyes under his mask. Rain stares at him for a moment longer then shudders, the glamor sloughing off his skin as he exhales.

Rain’s unglamored form is, as Omega had noted on the night of his summoning, beautiful. But he couldn’t properly appreciate it before when just illuminated in flashes of lightning and weak candlelight, and out under the noon sun Omega really begins to see just how much he had missed. The little scales glittered like crystals, the mottled pattern of his hide much easier to make out. The black and orange streaks stood out stark on the cream and gray skin, and his long, spear-point tipped tail sways gracefully as he stretches. Like any of the water ghouls Omega has known, Rain is all sleek muscle and graceful curves, not an ounce of extra fat on his lithe frame. The moment ends entirely too soon for Omega’s liking as the water ghoul dives off the side of the pier, slipping into the water with barely a splash left in his wake.

Omega shuffles to the edge of the pier and looks over, just barely being able to catch a glimpse of light reflecting off Rain’s scales as the ghoul darts through the water with an uncanny agility. He smiles again then turns and heads back to the shore, where he’d left their picnic basket a few minutes earlier, setting Rain’s clothes on a nearby rock so he can rummage for the blanket he’d packed. With a snap of his wrists he unfolds the blanket and lays it on the grass, weighing one corner down with the basket and the other with his shoes and mask. He yawns, running claws through his hair then pulls off his fascia, sighing in relief once he starts working on the row of buttons on his cassock, shrugging the constricting garment from his shoulders and folding it up to use as a pillow.

Laying down, Omega lets his own glamor fade: peachy skin turning to gray, the dark lines of his tribal tattoos blooming to life across his arms and chest. As he waits for Rain to tire himself out in the water, he has the perfect opportunity to think about what he wants to do. Omega knows he’s become more than fond of Rain in the past few months, a slow building passion for the shy water ghoul that has grown into and beyond lust, edging dangerously into territory the quintessence ghoul has avoided for a long time. It’s been decades since he’s wanted someone like this, not since he gave up pursuing Juri…

Omega sighs, watching the clouds slowly make their way across the sky, cock twitching in his pants. He’s half hard already, thinking too much on the suppleness of Rain’s thighs, of the slim jut of his hips and the sharp collar bones… Omega shakes his head, reaching a hand down and palming at his bulge as he debates jerking off, wondering if he’d have enough time before Rain comes back from the water. He’d done it before, stroked himself to completion thinking of how it would feel to have Rain’s mouth on him, how hot and tight he’d be riding him, watching how the water ghoul would writhe and moan for him as he fucked him…

A splash from the lake makes Omega’s eyes fly open and he sits up quickly, heart hammering in his chest with a quiet terror at being caught pleasuring himself while thinking of his companion. When he looks out over the lake, he doesn’t see Rain, though after a moment there’s another splash as the water ghoul leaps gracefully through the air and dives back under the surface. Omega can’t help but chuckle; the young ghoul seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, and he’s glad he was able to bring him here. He puts away the racey thoughts, shelving them for later should things go as he planned, instead rifling through the basket and pulling out the little book he snuck inside. After a little more digging he pulls out the pen he’d thrown in and begins writing a letter, detailing the more recent events for his little sister he hasn’t seen in years, wishing he had some way to get it, and the dozens of others he’s written, to her somehow.

“Food?” Rain chirps, dragging Omega out of his reverie. The water ghoul shakes the last drops of water from his skin and flops down onto the blanket, watching Omega with bright eyes as he chuckles and sets his book aside.

“Yes, food. I got the cooks to pack us some treats.” The older ghoul pulls out some containers, opening them up to reveals little finger sandwiches in one and a variety of different flavored pickles in the other. There was also a bag of handmade cheese crackers, fresh fruit, and some cured meats, and to top it all off, some cookies that had been baked just that morning. For humans it would be a veritable feast for just two, but being ghouls the food did not last very long, though it was savored just as well.

“It’s so good,” Rain purrs, stretching his arms out and yawning, blinking his eyes slowly. All of the exertion from swimming, coupled with the fatigue from the tour, was starting to wear him down, making the young ghoul wonder about taking a nap.

“It is, the cooks have outdone themselves this time,” Omega sighs happily, feeling full and content. He noticed how Rain was beginning to flag and clears away the empty containers, packing everything back into the basket and giving them more room on the blanket. Rain flops onto his side, purring softly and his tail coiling loosely around itself.

"S'like back home, almost," Rain sighs, voice thick with sleep. "Reminds me of the afternoons spent fishing in the lake with grandpa."

"Ah, bet that was nice," Omega murmurs, the old nostalgic ache for his own tribe beating dull against his chest.

"Mmm, I loved going out with him, on the seasons he wasn't sleeping. He'd begun to sleep more and more before I was summoned… Mom said that was normal for him though…" Rain looks up at the sky, eyes already beginning to droop from exhaustion.

"Sleeping? Does your tribe hibernate," Omega asks, curious.

"No, just Grandpa Stanley," Rain yawns, shifting on the blanket lazily.

"Stanley?" The name is like being stabbed with an icicle, filling him with a sharp sense of cold panic.  _ He can't mean…  _

"Badhi is his actual name… But we've always called him Stanley…" Rain's voice tapers off as he drifts to sleep, unable to stay awake any longer. Omega's heart races in his chest as he stares at the sleeping ghoul, berating himself for not noticing the connection sooner.  _ All the signs are there… the eyes, how could you miss those eyes? Or the scales and orange streaks… they’re just like the ones on Juri… _

Omega sighs, rubbing his hands over his face. This new realization complicated things, immensely, though it did not completely snuff out the desire he’d developed for Rain. If anything, it seemed he wanted him more now, however…

“Why’d it have to be your grandson, Stan,” he mutters, staring out at the mirror-smooth lake.  _ Fallen for your best and closest friend’s grandson… Lucifer, what’s going on with you…  _ Omega groans softly, falling back to stare up at the sky till he, too, drifts off to sleep.

* * *

_ The moon hung low in the sky, huge and casting everything in a silvery light. It’s beautiful, Omega thinks, though not nearly as much as the ghoulette dangling her feet into the water, humming as she works on repairing one of the fishing nets. _

_ “You’re thinking too much again,” she chides him, looking up at him though not stopping her task. Her fingers worked deftly at the netting, knotting the ropes by muscle memory. _

_ “I’m always thinking,” Omega chuckles, settling down next to her on the dock. The moonlight made her blue eyes seem like they were lit from within, glowing softly and reminding him of opals. He watches her shift the net to pull a new section into her lap, taking a moment to sigh softly and rub her swollen belly. “Not much longer now, huh?” _

_ “Hmm, he’s restless, like his father,” she giggles, going back to working on the netting. A moment of sadness blankets him, his mind hissing sharply, ‘could have been yours, should have been, but no, you stepped aside, let someone else take her from you.’ _

_ “Creek will be a good father, he’s patient and strong, and you’ll make for a wonderful mother,” Omega murmurs, giving Juri a kind smile. Regret eats away at him from the inside and he looks away, watching the fireflies flit amongst the cattails on the shore. When he turns to speak to her again she’s gone, in her place a hulking ghoul of hard muscle with silvery hair and beard. _

_ “Could’ve been you,” Stanley rumbles, folding his arms over his chest. The ancient ghoul turns his head slowly to look at Omega with a piercing gaze, eyes the same color as his daughter’s. Same as his grandson’s would be. “I set you all up, and you let her slip through your fingers.” _

_ “I know,” Omega sighed, unable to meet his dear friend’s eyes. “But she’s... happier with Creek, and she’ll have her kit soon. No need for a ghoul whose tribe doesn’t even want him anymore…” _

_ “You think too much,” Stanley growls, parroting his daughter. Omega can't even stand to look at him, to see the hard stare picking him apart. _

_ "It's true, though…" His voice is soft, barely noticeable over the sounds of the water and drone of the night insects. He focuses on that instead, trying to ignore the ache of his heart, the loneliness that threatens to swallow him whole, letting everything fade into nothing…  _

* * *

When he wakes the sun is decidedly lower in the sky, though not yet beginning to set. There’s something warm and heavy on his chest and he sighs, nuzzling into a head of soft hair, wrapping his arms around sun-warmed, soft skin. It’s a wonderful feeling, having someone curled up on his chest and he purrs softly, stroking his claws absently down the ridges of Rain’s spine. The water ghoul chirps softly in his sleep though doesn’t waken at the touch, snuggling closer and nosing at Omega’s chest where he’s using his pectorals as a pillow.

The moment is shattered when Omega remembers the short, half-mumbled conversation before they’d both fallen asleep earlier, the realization of who Rain exactly was hitting him like a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head. He barely keeps himself from flinching, instead going still and tense as he’s filled with an immense sense of guilt. The dream clings to his mind, casting a dark shadow over his thoughts.

It wasn’t the least bit real; he’d left the tribe to go back to his own right after Juri had mated Creek, a few years before she’d even become pregnant with Rain. The pain of seeing how much she loved the ghoul from the river tribe pushed Omega to return to a family that barely accepted him in penance for his actions in the old wars. It had been for the best, he supposes, for not long after his return he’d welcomed his little sister to the world and attempted to return to his tribes’ good graces so he could stay and watch over her as she grew up.

That hadn’t gone as planned and Omega quickly shoves those thoughts away, pushing them down and placing them back under lock and key. This was neither the time nor place for those memories, not wanting to sully the quiet afternoon with thoughts of death and destruction.

With the day fast drawing to a close he needed to get everything packed up and head back to the church, not wanting to incur a lecture from Sister Margaret for staying out after curfew. As he’s thinking of all this Rain shifts on his chest, keening softly and his tail twitches from side to side. Omega chirps to him softly, rubbing at his back to try and wake the ghoul gently from whatever dream bothered him. For a brief moment it seems to work till his tail begins to thrash side to side violently, soft whimpers coming from Rain’s throat as the nightmare takes hold of him.

“Rain? Rain, wake up, it’s just a dream,” Omega soothes, shaking his shoulder gently to try and break sleep’s hold on him. Whether it was his touch or voice that finally wakes the water ghoul he doesn’t know, but Rain’s eyes fly open and he lets out a strangled sob, gasping for air as if he’d been drowning, eyes darting around quickly as he regains his bearings.

"Hey, it's okay, it's alright," he croons, nearly flinching when Rain throws his arms around his neck and clings to him desperately, shivering and gasping for air as he shakes off the last remnants of the nightmare.

“It was burning, everything was burning,” the water ghoul whimpers, pressing his face into Omega’s shoulder. The quintessence ghoul rubs soothing circles across Rain’s back, humming softly as he takes a few moments to calm down. “The sky… the  _ water _ ... everything,” Rain sniffles, turning his head to rest his cheek on Omega’s chest. “They blessed our lake, made the water holy… they turned our own element against us…”

“It’s okay, you’re fine now. No blessed water or anything near here, I promise,” Omega says, running his fingers through Rain’s hair. He knew all too well the event Rain spoke of, the day when angels had descended upon the village on the lake. Omega had been out in the fields when it began and came running to help when he’d heard the screaming, diving into the water to pull out what ghouls he could and throw them to shore before the blessed water had burned them too badly. Most of it was a blur of adrenaline and pain as he tried to save as many as he could, the majority of the memory incoherent fuzz or blanking out parts entirely. He does, however, remember very clearly that one of the first kits he pulled from the water was none other than Rain.

“S-sorry,” Rain mumbles after calming down after a few more minutes. “It… it’s an old nightmare I have, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine, no need to apologize,” Omega assures him as Rain pulls away and laces his fingers together nervously. “Trauma is hard to overcome, and facing something terrible like that takes a long time to figure out, if you ever do. There’s no shame in it.”

“Thank you,” Rain mumbles, voice quiet and small. The young ghoul wraps the long length of his tail around himself, staring out at the lake where the water shone bright under the afternoon sun.

“We should be heading back,” Omega nudges him gently, loathe as he was to leave. Rain sighs and nods, shifting to stand and stretch out his arms and legs before shuffling over to his pile of clothes. He makes a forlorn face then shudders, skin rippling and fading back to peachy human-toned flesh and thin, short tail. Omega dons his own discarded clothes and glamor, packing up the blanket and slipping his mask back on over his head.

“Ready,” he asks, slinging the strap of the basket over his shoulder, Rain nodding after he settles his own mask in place. Omega doesn’t rush the walk back, letting Rain get to enjoy every moment possible of them being away from the church.

“Um, Omega…?” Rain pauses, tail twitching nervously as he hugs his arms around himself. The gate leading back into the church grounds lies just ahead, the orchards cast in heavy shadow from the setting sun.

“Yes,” asks the quintessence ghoul, stopping to turn and look at Rain. “Everything alright?”

“Y-yeah, I just…” Rain chews on his bottom lip, eyes flicking up to his companion then back down, his cheeks burning hot under his mask. “I, um… I had a, a great time today and… and wanted to thank you for bringing me.”

“I enjoyed it, too,” Omega smiles, trying to put the younger ghoul at ease.

“I… I just… wanted to know if… if you…” Rain swallows hard around the lump in his throat, feeling as if his stomach was in knots. “...If you wouldn’t mind going back out to the lake with.. .with me, again, sometime?”

“Sure, I’ll see if they can make some more allowances for us to get away some more,” Omega promised, glad to see that Rain seemed to relax at the words, a little bit of a spring in his step as they head back to the church.


	8. A Pale Tour

Rain wasn’t ready for it; the time spent at the church seeming to fly by in a flash. Before he knew it they were packing their things and being bundled onto a plane, having their last pep talk before walking out on stage.

“This, my dear ghouls, is the real deal,” Copia says, the ghouls all gathered around him as the stage hands and techs ran about making last minute adjustments. “Tonight, we begin making history for the church.”

“But… what about last tour,” asks Mountain, seemingly confused. “Didn’t we start with that?”

“That, dear Mountain,” Copia asserted, “was just a… trial run, if you will. To see if the changes I have implemented worked to our benefit.”

“Oh… okay?” Mountain shrugs rolling his shoulders and stepping to the back of the group to begin his pre-ritual stretching. The ghouls all noted that the changes must have been to the clergy’s liking, as their Cardinal was still up and breathing, not to mention singing. Copia rubs his hands together, giving the ghouls a cunning grin.

“Right, now... We are in this most historic venue… Play well my ghouls. Play as if Lucifer himself is watching.”

* * *

_ What is he doing? _

It’s all Rain had time to think as Aether comes to his side of the stage, not part of their typical movements. He puts his foot up on the riser to mimic Rain’s posture. Rain turns his head to the rhythm guitarist occasionally as he plays, noticing that Aether was leaning closer and closer. He looks away again, trying to focus on his notes, but then he looks over and Aether is closer still. Rain doesn’t look away at all this time, blue eyes staring at the soft dark ones peering down at from behind the chromed mask, coming closer and closer, as if the big ghoul were coming in for a kiss…

_ Was Aether going to… here, on stage? What?? _

Just before their masks would touch Aether jerks his head away, making Rain flinch back slightly and then the moment is over, and they’re back to their previously rehearsed steps. It leaves an odd feeling in his gut, however. One that would bother him for awhile.

* * *

Something hitting the tour bus wall nearby startled Rain out of his light nap, making the water ghoul yawn before hesitantly poking his head out from his bunk. He wondered for a moment if anyone was going to tell him they had arrived at the hotel or just wait for the bus driver to do so when he went through cleaning up the mess they all tended to leave behind. Looking out from his bunk he finds Dewdrop throwing picks at the wall, a scowl on his face and seemingly ready to launch himself at whatever poor soul bothered him next. Rain wonders if he could duck back into his bunk before being found out, but just as he was about to Dewdrop’s eyes lock onto his own.

“A-are we… there yet,” Rain asks timidly, his stomach feeling like it’s trying to tie itself into knots as the small ghoul’s stare bores into him. It takes every ounce of self control not to shrink away from the look, knowing that running would only make Dew chase after him.

“Yeah,” the guitarist snaps, throwing his next pick even harder at the wall. If it were Swiss, or Mountain, Rain might try to comfort them and ask what was bothering them, but this was Dewdrop… and Rain wasn’t sure how he’d react to kindness.  _ Probably try and start a fight, knowing him, _ Rain thinks to himself as he climbs out of his bunk entirely, looking around as he stretches his arms and legs out.

“Most everyone gone to their rooms then? Are you just waiting for Aether,” the water ghoul asks, scrounging through his bunk for a few things to take to his own room.

“Aether,” Dew snarls, flinging the rest of the picks in a fit of rage, “dropped me to go wandering around with the girls.”

_ Oh, no wonder he’s pissed off… _ Rain’s spine stiffens at the burst of anger from the small ghoul, hoping he doesn’t turn that anger on Rain like he’s seen him do at unfortunate siblings of sin back home at the church.

“It’s fucking boring, I hate being by myself,” Dew goes on, stomping over to snatch up some of the picks from the floor to begin throwing again. “But nooo, Aether decides that looking at crumbling old buildings and other stupid shit is more fun.”

“You… could stay with me,” Rain offers, the words spilling from his mouth before he could even think of what he’d just said. He bites his tongue then rushes to add, “t-till Aether comes back, at least.”

“With… you?” Dewdrop turns to look over at Rain, and unreadable expression on his face. The smaller ghoul’s eyes narrow, then his lips stretch into a slow grin. “Sure, why not.”

“O-okay, um, let me just, grab my bag then,” Rain mumbles, nervously finding his overnight bag of clothes and stuffing his phone charger and the little plush shark that Zephyr had given him inside then throwing the strap over his shoulder. “Uhm, did… did they leave me a room key or anything…?”

“Yeah, here,” Dewdrop says, leaning over the table next to him and snatching up a plastic card with a post-it note stuck to the front then tossing it to the bassist. Rain fumbles for it but manages to not drop it, looking at the room number scrawled on the note before following Dew out of the bus.

“Fuck, it’s nice to get out of there. Feel like goddamn sardines packed in a fuckin’ can,” the fire ghoul mutters, rolling his shoulders and neck as they walk inside the hotel and to the elevators.

“Yeah… nice to have some space,” Rain comments, nervous and unsure what to talk about with his fellow band ghoul.

“And privacy. Since Aether is too fucking prudish to fuck on the bus… doesn’t want anyone seeing or hearing anything he says,” Dewdrop grumbled, punching the button for the floor number with more violence than necessary. “Not like any of you haven’t fucked anyone before or something.” Dewdrop pauses, turning his head to give Rain a questioning look when the elevator dings to signal they’ve reached their floor. “...You have, haven’t you?”

Rain sputters, face going scarlet at the unexpected question. “Y-y-yes,” he chirps, speeding up his pace down the hall once they were out of the elevator as if he could flee the conversation.

“Oh, really? That doesn’t sound convincing,” Dewdrop snickers, chasing after the water ghoul with a sly look on his face. “What’s wrong, Rainy, why you running off?”

“N-nothing!” Rain fumbles with the keycard, finally opening the door to his hotel room and wanting to hide his face in his pillow. Dewdrop is almost literally on his heels, pushing his way inside then crowding Rain against the wall as the door clicks shut.

“You look like a newly initiated sister of sin, blushing like that,” teased Dewdrop, “you’re not a virgin, are you?”

“No! I’m, I’m not,” the water ghoul squeaked, biting at his bottom lip. He doesn’t know how he does it, but despite being slightly shorter than him Dewdrop manages to feel as if he’s looming over him with his arms planted on either side of his arms against the wall.

“Not very convincing,” Dew snorts, mouth quirked into a smirk as his orange eyes flicker like candlelight. “Why don’t we fuck then? Don’t you wanna blow off some steam?”

Rain goes still for a moment then tilts his head to the side. The teasing was something he expected, and possibly even Dew getting all angry and wrestling him to the floor like he’s seen him do to Swiss, Mountain, and Aether. But this turn of events was… unexpected, to say the least, but not in a bad way. Dew did have a point, it’d been so long since Rain had an actual partner to sleep with he’s almost forgotten how it felt.  _ Since that last Gathering the tribe attended, with Maple and Crest on the riverside... _

“Sure,” Rain agreed, the nervousness still there but morphing slowly into something… more. He lets the strap of his bag slip from his shoulder and drop to the floor with a thud. Dew’s smirk widens to show off his teeth, still straight and blunt in his human glamor but the message still bright and clear. Rain tilts his head to the side, baring the long column of his throat submissively. Dewdrop doesn’t need any further prompting and closes the gap between them, pressing Rain back into the wall with the weight of his body and latching his mouth onto the offered pale neck. A shiver goes down Rain’s spine as the fire ghoul bites and sucks at his skin, the treatment rough and aggressive just as he expected from Dewdrop. His hands wander on their own to rest on Dewdrop’s narrow hips, pulling him closer so that he can grind against the leg that slips between his own, groaning softly at the contact.

“Clothes, off,” Dewdrop growls when he pulls away from Rain’s neck, stepping away and reaching back to pull his shirt over his head. Rain gives a soft whine at the loss of friction, though it dies quickly as he scrambles to rid himself of his clothes as well, a small worry that if he didn’t do it fast enough Dew would rip them off himself, and if he was being honest he rather quite liked this pair of jeans and shirt…

“Drop the glamor, too. No need for that shit when we’re alone,” Dew huffs, breaking through Rain’s thoughts as he’s toeing off his shoes and socks. Rain looks up to see that the smaller ghoul had already dropped his glamor, tail snapping about as he kicked off his shoes so he could pull off his pants, the dim light glinting off the rings pierced through his nipples. Wondering what it would feel like to have similar piercings of his own, Rain quickly finishes undressing then drops his own glamor, trying to ignore the nervousness that flutters in his stomach.

“Um, what,” Rain begins, only to be cut off as Dew growls at him softly and pushes him to the bed. No sooner has his back hit the mattress the guitarist is on him, straddling his hips and pushing him down into the sheets as he leans forward and kisses Rain roughly. Letting Dewdrop lead, Rain tries to follow but finds it hard to keep up with the fire ghoul’s aggressive pace, instead dropping to passivity and reacting when he can but mostly just trying to enjoy the raw sensuality. To say that it was different in almost every way from the sex Rain was used to was a massive understatement; back in Hell, no one dared mark his skin for fear of inciting the wrath of his grandfather, the patriarch of his tribe and the manifestation of the spirit of the lakes. But here there was no such safety net, though Rain doubts the fire ghoul would act any different if the threat was still there. He was going to be wreathed in bruises and scratches, bitemarks and hickeys in a few scant hours and the water ghoul relished it, yearned for the sharp bite of claws and fangs in his flesh that made desire pool hot in his gut, pain melding with pleasure like the delta where the cold water of the river swirled into the warm salt of the ocean.

“Dew,” Rain trills, rolling his hips to press their groins together, feeling the hard jut of Dewdrop’s cock slide along his own. “Can I… please…?” His fingers trailed up the fire ghoul’s back, digging his claws in slightly to leave red lines in their wake to delicately brush against the gathered tail of his long hair.

“Sure, whatever,” Dewdrop shrugs, reaching up and pulling the band out to let his hair fall into a silky chestnut curtain around his face. Rain runs his fingers through it, finding it amazingly soft against his fingers. “You and Aether both… I don’t get the appeal of it,” the guitarist mutters before biting down hard on Rain’s collarbone. The water ghoul hisses sharply at the pain but still arcs into it, moaning as Dew’s fingers dig into his hips to keep them on the mattress. 

“Roll over,” grunts the smaller ghoul once he’s finished sucking another mark to Rain’s skin, pulling away and moving to the side. He impatiently smacks Rain’s side when he doesn’t move immediately, making the bassist chirp before rolling to lay on his stomach. “Are you that dense? On your knees and get your ass in the air.” Dewdrop grumbles as Rain complies quickly this time, muttering under his breath, “you sure you’ve actually done this before? You sure don’t act like it.”

“It… it’s been awhile,” Rain huffs as the other ghoul presses his shoulders to the bed and spreads his legs apart. He feels so vulnerable and open, cock and balls hanging heavy in the air between his legs, and he nearly begs for Dew to touch him. He holds onto that one last little shred of pride, however, knowing he at least presents a lovely picture to the fire ghoul.

“If you say so.” There was that distinct tone in Dewdrop’s voice, the one he gets when he’s about to do something that would get him in a lot of trouble, but before Rain could question it the guitarist’s hand smacks down hard onto the bottom of one of his shapely asscheeks, making him yelp loudly. Dewdrop snickers and tugs on Rain’s tail before delivering another slap to the opposite cheek, soothing the sting of the hit by fingering the sensitive base of Rain’s tail.

“Dewwww,” whines the water ghoul, wiggling his butt and coiling his tail around one of the guitarist’s arms at the attention. He’s panting softly into the sheets, desperate for something more than the teasing the fire ghoul has been subjecting him to.

“Demons, you’re needy,” Dewdrop snickers, sliding his fingers down between the water ghoul’s legs, pressing two against the tight ring of muscle till he forces the digits inside. “Ohh, what they say is true then. Water ghouls are just like their ghoulettes, they get all slick and wet for you,” he purrs, wiggling his fingers and ignoring the pained hiss from his partner as he works the digits in up to his knuckles. Rain is panting soft little sounds, the tight ring of his asshole clenching tight around Dew’s fingers almost rhythmically, as if his body itself begging for Dewdrop’s cock, making the fire ghoul grin and extract his fingers.

“Yeah, yeah, just wait,” he says when Rain whines at the sudden emptiness, “You’ll get it in just a second.” Spitting into his hand, Dewdrop strokes his cock, slicking it with his saliva then guiding it to nudge the head against Rain’s hole, rubbing it in teasing circles before pushing inside. Dewdrop has to grip Rain’s hips for leverage as he sinks inside him, Rain pressing his face into the mattress to muffle the mix of pained hisses and moans of pleasure. With one last grunt Dewdrop thrusts his hips forward and yanks back on Rain’s hips to fit the last bit of his cock inside the water ghoul, left panting from the effort and the feeling of being surrounded by him.

“Fuck, just… just fucking relax,” groans the fire ghoul, “you’re so tight, fuck.” Rain mewls as Dewdrop starts to pull out only to thrust his hips back forward shallowly but quickly, keeping to the short rhythm until Rain has finally loosened enough around his cock for him to go deep. The hotel room is quickly filled by the sound of skin slapping against skin as Dewdrop pounds into him, the pain masked over by the sheer amount of pleasure singing through his veins, making Rain moan and chirp short, pleasing sounds. He tries to reach down and palm himself, desperate for some kind of touch on his cock though Dewdrop slaps his hand away when he tries, growling and leaning over his back to bite at his shoulders and the nape of his neck.

It’s not too much longer before Dewdrop’s rhythm begins to falter, hips stuttering till he grunts and thrusts forward one last time. The fire ghoul presses his face into Rain’s back as his cock pulses, cumming deep inside him before going limp, left spent and panting. After a few moments Rain whines softly and wiggles his hips, cock still untouched and painfully hard. “Please,” he begs, so very, very desperate to cum.

“Yeah, yeah, hold on,” Dewdrop huffs when he finally gets the energy to sit up, slowly pulling his softening cock from Rain’s ass. Dewdrop sighs and grins lazily at how debauched the bassist looked, skin flushed and his hole gaping open from being stretched around his cock, erection still hanging heavy and practically dripping precum onto the sheets. “Nice,” he chuckles, running his hands down the sides of Rain’s thighs. Just as he’s about to grasp the water ghoul’s cock he hears the telltale sound of his phone beeping, in the precise tone he’d set for when Aether messaged him.

“Stay,” he mutters to the ghoul on the bed, though he knew Rain wouldn’t be going anywhere for awhile, and slides off the bed to extract his phone from his pants. He reads the message quick, Aether asking him if he wanted to join him at a pub down the street for dinner. He sends a reply saying he’d be there soon then quickly throws on his clothes, running a hand through his hair and pulling it back into a messy ponytail. “Sorry, gotta run. Aether needs me, so I’ll see you later,” he calls before jogging out of the room, leaving Rain dazed and confused.

“Dew…?” Rain calls, mind so focused on release that it takes a while before he realizes that the fire ghoul had really, actually left him. He grunts as he flops over onto his side, staring blankly at the curtained window across the room, trying hard to collect himself. At first he’s filled with a sense of utter disbelief that Dewdrop had fucked him and run out on him without reciprocating, hoping that maybe it was just some terrible joke and the guitarist was waiting to pounce on him once he got up. But the minutes tick by and the room is dead silent around him, the disbelief twisting into something he’d never felt before, something heavy and hard to describe.

He felt dirty and used. As if he were just a toy there for the fulfillment of others without them caring about his own wants and needs.

Rain shifts his legs over the side of the bed and sits up, blinking away the tears that well in his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to rinse the feel of Dewdrop from his skin, rid himself of every reminder of what had happened, push it down and lock it away till he forgot it all in earnest. With the slick feeling of Dew’s cum inside him, leaking out his abused hole and slicking his thighs, he’s desperate for a shower and stands, only to hiss and bite back a pained sound as his entire body seems to protest moving. And to top it all off the need for release is still throbbing in his gut, cock hard and insistent despite how that’s the very last thing he wants to deal with at the moment.

“Cold shower, then.  _ Very _ cold,” he mutters, limping into the bathroom and flicking on the lights, pausing as he catches his reflection in the mirror. The marks are garish blotches across his neck and shoulders, the indentations of Dewdrop’s fangs in darker rings, a few crusted over with dried blood where they had broken the skin. His hips were dotted with fingerprint bruises, not nearly as violent as the bites and hickeys yet they were so much more  _ intimate _ , twisting his stomach again into knots till he couldn’t even look at his reflection any longer without feeling disgusted with himself. He reaches into the shower and turns the cold water tap on full blast, shuffling in under the spray and nearly yelping at the icy chill of it on his skin. He stays shivering under the torrent, eyes closed for a few moments before scrubbing at his skin with his hands as he waits for the chill to do its work and chase away his erection.

It doesn’t work.

Despite the cold and his desire to not want to deal with it anymore, his cock was still hard demanding that he find release. Having spent too long neglecting his own needs during the tour had come back to bite him in the ass, so to speak. Finally giving in with a weary sigh Rain braces one arm on the shower wall then leans forward to rest his head on the slick tile, his other hand dropping down and just stroking his fingers lightly down the underside of his prick. He can feel his heartbeat pick up almost immediately at the light touch and he swallows hard, pausing long enough to turn the water to as hot as it could go then changing his position to lean his back on the tile.

Rain’s eyes slip closed as he wraps his long fingers around himself, sliding his hand up and down along the shaft in slow pulls, occasionally dragging the pad of his thumb over the head and rub at the slit, smearing the precum over himself for that added bit of slick. While Rain tries to keep his mind clear and focus only on the sensations little details start to filter in and superimpose themselves; thicker fingers stroking against him, the momentary chill of the metal finger cuffs till they soak up his body heat, his back pressed against a wide chest, and the soft scent of cedar and musk. The rumble of soft words in his ear sends a shudder down his spine and his other hand drags down his chest and abdomen to between his legs, stroking the soft skin of his inner thighs before gently taking the delicate sac of his testicles in his palm. Rain kneads them lightly, breathing ragged as his right hand pumps his cock faster, hurtling toward orgasm with a single-minded intensity. His heart is hammering in his chest, sucking in air in short, rapid gasps, getting so close to the edge, so very, very close until--

Rain wails Omega’s name as he cums, back arching off the shower wall as he paints stripes of semen across his skin. His right hand strokes his cock through the cascade of pleasure to milk every last pearly drop, finally slowing to a stop once it begins to edge into overstimulation. Knees shaking then giving out entirely, the water ghoul slides down to slump over himself in the shower, staring blankly at the ceiling as he comes down from the rush of bliss. Eventually, when his breathing is back to a normal pace and his legs tremble but still hold him up, he rinses the remains of his orgasm from his skin and shuts the shower off, wrapping himself in a towel and tottering back to the bed. He strips the soiled top sheet off and flops down onto the mattress, curling up under his towel and dropping into a deep sleep.

* * *

Everything felt odd, as if there were something out of place yet Rain was unable to pinpoint what, exactly, it was. It made him fidget with the cuffs of his tailed coat and readjust the strap of his bass. Swiss seemed to catch onto his unease and had sauntered over to place a gentle hand on his back, tilting his head in slight confusion when Rain flinches away before noticing who it was.

“You cool,” he asks, worried about the shy bassist.

“Y-yeah, fine,” Rain mumbles, knowing he sounded anything else but.

“You sure,” the multi-instrumentalist insists, not taking the bait at all.

“It… it’ll be alright. Playing will help, I think.” Rain shifts his feet, looking up and giving Swiss a wan smile, despite the fact that the expression was hidden beneath mask and balaclava.

“Right, if there’s anything I can do…”

“I’ll ask, thanks,” Rain nods, watching the fire ghoul retreat back to his place to the right of Mountain’s drumset. There’s a small flurry of activity as the ghouls all take their places on stage, one last checking of strings and settings, picks and drumsticks at the ready as  _ Ashes  _ begins to play.

The first note plucked from his strings as the curtain rises chases the unease away, the thrum of the bassline throughout his body becoming trancelike and everything falls into well-practiced routine. The ritual ran smoothly until they swapped instruments for their acoustic guitars and settled onto the steps for  _ Jigolo Har Megiddo _ and his stomach twists sharply at Dewdrop being so close. It seems as if Aether picks up on his change in mood and shuffles closer, leaning back to rest his head against Rain’s leg. The move certainly grabs the water ghoul’s attention and he strokes his fingers along the molded hair of the chromed mask, feeling the big ghoul purr softly in response. Then they both catch the angry set of Dewdrop’s eyes behind his mask as he watches them, the two ghouls scooting away then trying to focus instead on their instruments. 

The song goes off without a hitch though Rain swears he can feel the smaller ghoul’s eyes boring into him the whole while. He half expected Dewdrop to attack him during intermission though when he looks around after handing his bass to one of the techs he can’t find either Dewdrop nor Aether. It’s curious but he decides to not think on it, instead going about his usual routine during intermission. He pretends not to notice when the two guitarists return to the stage in the last couple of minutes of their break, taking their guitars and settling the straps over their shoulders.  _ Odd _ , Rain thinks to himself, making a last minute adjustment to the tuning of a string as they wait for the countdown for the second half of the ritual to commence.

The rest of the concert goes almost perfectly, the ghouls all playing their best and the cardinal captivating the crowd with his voice and salacious movements. Rain even gets so into the music that during one song he loses balance and falls off the riser he was standing on and lands right on his ass, though by some miracle he manages to keep playing without missing a single note. He stays there on the stage floor playing as if he had meant to fall, turning his head slightly to see Dewdrop walking towards him, head cocked slightly to the side in a silent question,  _ are you alright? _ Rain gives a small nod in return to signal he’s fine, eventually getting back up on his legs and finishing the ritual without any further incident.

Rain is in one of the dressing rooms once they’re off stage, taking his time changing out of his uniform and into his set of street clothes. He’d lagged behind the others after leaving the stage, taking a few moments to speak to the techs about his bass, commenting on how it played and sounded, making some suggestions for the next ritual and so on. As such he was most likely going to be one of the last ones on the bus, though usually Zephyr and Mistral were last if only because they were so particular with the packing of their synthesizers and keyboards. He’s just pulled his jeans on and done up the zip, fingers on the button when the dressing room door opens, Dewdrop slipping inside and making Rain freeze in place.

“Hey, Rain I want-- oh.” The fire ghoul stopped mid-sentence to stare at the bassist, hazel-glamored eyes going wide for a moment before he quickly masks the look of surprise. The look catches Rain off guard and makes him wonder what it was that would throw Dew off so easily, but then he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror and the cause is very evident. He’d forgotten to put up the secondary glamor and the bruises and bitemarks were stark against his pale skin.

“What is it,” Rain asks, turning away from the fire ghoul and pretending like he didn’t notice the pleased look on his face.

“You… fell, earlier. On stage… was wondering if you’re alright,” Dew shrugs, somehow able to sound concerned yet completely uncaring at the same time.

“I’m fine,” Rain mutters, though in reality his backside hurt from the combination of the previous night’s abuse and then falling onto the stage floor. He wouldn’t give Dewdrop the satisfaction of knowing just how sore he was, to the point where walking was more than just uncomfortable now that the adrenaline from the show had worn off.

“Right, okay.” The fire ghoul seems to be glad to drop that subject as he takes a few steps closer, looking down at his feet for a moment before looking back up with intent right into Rain’s eyes. “I’m… sorry about last night. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Uh?” Rain stares at Dewdrop is disbelief;  _ did he just… apologize? Dewdrop?? _ It seems he’s fallen into some weird alternate dimension, and he wonders what the hell has gotten into the guitarist.

“I’ll blow you,” Dewdrop offers, utterly nonchalant just as Rain was going to ask if he was ill. Instead Rain sputters and stares at him, gawking openly.

“Uh, you… you  _ what _ ?”

“Give you a blow job. Suck you dick.  _ Fellatio _ ,” Dewdrop snickers, enjoying how flustered Rain had become. “Didn’t finish you last night, so I’ll do it now. If you want.”

Rain still can’t help but just stand there and stare, his mouth hanging open in abject surprise. Dew waits another moment before stepping forward, seemingly taking the water ghoul’s silence as acceptance and grabs for the waistband of his pants. The water ghoul jumps and chirps at the contact, pulling away from the guitarist and quickly fastening the button of his jeans.

“N-not, not now,” he stutters, blushing as he sees the confused look on Dew’s face. “I just… I’m, I’m tired, from the ritual.”

“Okay. But it’s on the table, if you want. Just ask.” Dewdrop shrugs, eyes glued to the imprints of his teeth on Rain’s neck and shoulders. When his eyes flick up to Rain’s they’re not the glamored hazel but instead his natural yellow-orange, the color shifting slightly as like a flickering flame.

“S-sure, th… Thanks. I’ll, um, I’ll remember that,” Rain stammers. He swallows hard under that gaze, insides starting to twist into knots as he fights off the instinct to bow his head obediently.

“Right, see you on the bus then.” The fire ghoul turns away after giving him a smirk and slips out the dressing room as silently as he came in. After waiting a few moments with bated breath to make sure Dewdrop wasn’t going to come back in Rain sighs heavily. He knew what that look Dewdrop had given him, knew just what really fueled his offer.  _ All marked up by a dominant ghoul… You belong to him now, in his mind. He’s got his name practically etched into your skin. _

“You’re so fucked,” he groans to himself, pulling his shirt on over his head. He leans over the dresser and lets his head fall into his hands, raking fingers through his hair.

* * *

Something strange starts to happen after the incident with Aether during the one show early on.

This tour was very similar to the last with only a few changes to the setlist, meaning while they still rehearsed it was becoming something almost automatic to do, the music now a part of them entirely. The ghouls livened things up as they could by wandering around the stage, interacting with each other as they could. Rain would wander over to Swiss’s platform more, swaying along with the fire ghoul as he’d dance and shimmy, gold eyes twinkling in the stage lights behind his mask in such a way that Rain knows he’s grinning ear-to-ear at him.

But also, where normally he’d just have a moment or so with the two guitarists on stage suddenly he found Aether or Dew, or sometimes  _ both _ ghouls standing near him as they play. Sometimes they’d lean in towards him, sometimes they’d just stand next to him. Sometimes Dew would do that weird little head tilt of his as he’d lean close, an aura of dominance rolling off him in waves that would make a shiver go down Rain’s spine, the marks and bruises still on him tingling and burning hot against his skin. After those times Rain would find himself braced against a bathroom sink, contemplating asking Dew if his offer of a blowjob still stood. He’d wait it out each time, splashing cold water on his face and upper body till the need to let Dewdrop mark him all up and claim him again fades away. He’s left shivering and feeling weird, empty yet still something jumbled around inside him.

Each show it goes on, and on, and on, escalating further bit by bit every time they play. One night they’re standing back against the wall of the platform where the Swiss and Mountain were set up, listening to Copia speak to the crowd and introduced his ghouls. Rain kept beat with his bassline as Dewdrop settles to his left, then a moment later Aether is at his right. Dewdrop starts fiddling around, fingers sliding up the neck of his bass, pressing his fingers on the strings where the notes Rain needed to play were. The fire ghoul gently coaxes Rain’s hand away from the strings, his own sliding up and down to press the notes as necessary. Then Aether’s hand is over his right, pick held between his fingers to pluck the strings, Rain now not even playing his instrument at all. He tucks his hands behind his back, looking from side to side with a nervous expression.

And then, of course, they fuck it right up.

Rain shakes his head and shoos them away, grumbling softly and walking off to the other side of the stage. After the concert the two ghouls laugh and tease him a bit till Rain stomps off and closes himself in a dressing room, refusing to leave till Zephyr lures him out with the promise of some candy she had stashed away. He’d already changed into his street clothes, uniform hanging neatly on its hanger. Rain refuses to even look at Aether or Dewdrop, pointedly ignoring the guitarists as he hands his uniform over to one of the crew and stomps back to the bus, muttering angrily under his breath the whole way.

When the rest of the ghouls return to the bus Rain has sequestered himself in his bunk, the privacy screen pulled shut. Swiss knocks gently on the wall and calls out softly as he tosses his own bag to the side, letting Rain know they were all back but not trying to intrude on his self-imposed solitude. After a while, once the bus was rumbling underneath them, Zephyr and Mistral go and knock gently on the wall next to Rain’s bunk before pulling back the screen slowly, the two ghoulettes leaning in and speaking softly. A few moments later Rain slides from his bunk and follows the girls to the back lounge, curling up on the couch between them as they settle down for their nightly reading session. He settles his head on Mistral’s lap, yawning before blinking blearily at the book the ghoulette was reading. Rain had no clue what it was about, too tired to focus on the words as they rode on, rather letting his mind wander as he enjoyed the simple companionship.

The fact that Aether and Dewdrop would rile him up on stage, then only give him that barest amount of attention in passing once outside the venues, did not go unnoticed. It made the hollow ache inside that much worse, knowing that it was just that: teasing and stage antics, nothing remotely concrete. His only solace is the texts he sends back and forth, with occasional pictures, to Omega, though even now those only soothe for a few moments before the ache comes back, harder than ever.


	9. Heat

Rain had never been so glad to return home to the church as he did this time. He felt strung out and stretched too thin, everything wire-taut and ready to snap at any moment. He barely has the energy to help get their gear all unloaded and see that his instrument was taken care of before stumbling down to their quarters, dropping his overnight bag onto the floor and flopping straight onto his bed. Without even bothering to crawl under the covers, much less take off his shoes, Rain is fast asleep and snoring softly.

He doesn’t know exactly how long he slept for, but when he woke he felt groggy and his head full of cotton. Groaning softly, Rain pushes himself to his feet and scrubbs his hands over his face; his back and shoulders hurt from sleeping in a weird position, and his head ached dully. He finally toes off his shoes and dumps the contents of his bag onto the floor unceremoniously, shuffling through the pile of clothes and junk he’d collected to find his little stuffed shark, tossing it onto his bed before slumping into his bathroom, trying to ignore how strung out he looked in the mirror as he stripped his clothes off and got the shower running. Once the water is as hot as he could make it he steps under the spray, moaning softly as the heat of the water seeps into his tired, sore muscles and soothes away the aches and pains of the tour.

For a long while Rain just stands there, letting the hot spray of water beat across his skin. He still felt odd and out of sorts, like something inside him just wasn’t right. He chalked it down to the tour, it was a harder schedule than the first one, the venues bigger, the crowds more and more wild. And of course the pressure to perform only got worse with the biggest shows, and while they went well enough he knew the clergy would only expect even more from them now. It was just the reality of it now, really, Rain knows, though still he wished they’d give them a break and let them just bask in their accomplishments. But also… Touring was lonely.

Despite being crammed in with his fellow ghouls for days on end, with only the occasional times they could have a hotel room, Rain had never felt lonelier in his entire life. While they all worked to include him in whatever it was they were doing if he wanted to join them, he didn’t have that close bond with one of his fellow bandmates like they all seemed to have. The closest he got was that time with Dewdrop, the only real physical closeness he’s had in a long, long time… though that in and of itself was just a charade, another of the fire ghoul’s tricks. It made everything else ache so much more after having what he was so desperate for dangled right in front of him, only to have it snatched right away.

Groaning, Rain scrubs his hands over his face, trying to shake the feeling from where it has seemed to settle in his bones. He focuses instead on scrubbing himself down with a little jar of salt scrub Mistral had given him, as if he could slough off the turbulent emotions along with whatever grime had seeped into his skin over the course of the tour that he hadn’t yet had the chance to deep clean out. By the time he’s fully clean, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, he does feel a little lighter but the ache persists, even after he dries himself off. He flops onto his bed, cuddling his little plush shark to his chest, hoping that some deep, uninterrupted sleep would help resolve everything.

* * *

Nothing worked. Not sleep, or food, or playing his bass. The hollow ache ate deeper and deeper into him as time crawled by, and now on the third day something else has joined it. Something that felt like fire pulsing along his nerves, scratching and scrabbling at him from the inside as if there was something trying to fight its way out through his flesh. After tossing and turning in his bed, it becomes too much for Rain to take, finally deciding to go seek help with whatever it was that plagued him. He untangles himself from his sheets and dresses methodically, fingers moving on autopilot to do up the buttons of his shirt and tail coat, his tie knotted crooked but he didn’t really have the mind to correct it.

The common room was empty, his fellow ghouls either out of the wing entirely or ensconced in their own rooms, though something inside him says they couldn’t really help him anyways. He wanders out into the hallway, looking around aimlessly before picking a direction and walking off, trying to think of who he could talk to about what was going on. Rain pauses to avoid other ghouls at intersections in the hall, feeling weird and shaky every time he’d see one. Soon he felt as if he were burning up and regrets putting on all the layers of his uniform instead of leaving the jacket off, wondering why the clergy had decided to heat the church up so much.

Eventually, Rain stops in his wandering, head feeling like it was spinning slowly and full of cotton. He blinks, finally taking note of his surroundings and finding himself in the long hall of clergy offices, the atmosphere hushed and quiet in this wing of the church. Directly to his right was Copia’s rooms, as if he’d somehow unconsciously known to seek out the Cardinal to ask for help. Licking his lips nervously, Rain knocks on the door to the cardinal’s study, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around his middle and huddle in on himself before entering when the cardinal’s voice calls out for him to do so.

“Rain? What is wrong, my ghoul,” Copia asks as he looks up to find his bassist nearly cowering just across the threshold. The cleric rises from his desk and is across the room in a soft swishing of his red robes, a gloved hand rising to slip under the metallic mask and gently cup Rain’s cheek.

“Cardinal, I… I don’t…” Rain gives a soft, distressed trill, leaning his head into the warm leather of the glove, his tail snapping agitatedly behind him.

“You’re going into heat, aren’t you?” Copia retracts his hand and coaxes Rain to take his mask and balaclava off, examining the size of his pupils and color of his skin. He pulls off one of his gloves and presses the back of his hand to Rain’s forehead. The clammy dampness would trick most into thinking the ghoul just sick, yet Copia notes the way his eyes flutter shut at the touch of skin to his own, can sense the slight increase in his pulse, all warning signs that the ghoul would soon be enthralled in the urge to breed and be bred.

“Here, come now we should get you downstairs,” the cardinal soothes, helping Rain replace his head coverings before ushering him out of the study. With a steady hand on the small of Rain’s back he leads him down the halls and staircases into the old dungeons, guiding him through a heavy door to a section Rain had never been to before. Inside was a large brother of sin sitting at a desk, a set of old tomes on one side and an ipad in front of him.

“Brother, have you a free cell? Our friend here is going to be in need of one shortly,” the cardinal asks in a congenial voice, giving the sibling of sin a small smile. The brother nods and taps on the ipad screen, inputting Rain’s name into a roster and pressing a button that causes a green light to illuminate on a panel next to a door down the hall from the desk. The cardinal thanks the brother and ushers Rain down to the room, opening the door and herding him inside.

“Everything… or, well,  _ almost _ everything you would need is provided. You’ve a bathroom over there and... Here, lets see what’s inside this…” Copia turns to the dresser next to the bed and goes through the drawers, opening each and rifling through the contents. “Porn magazines of various varieties, moist wipes, an assortment of toys… dildos, vibratos, cockrings, clamps… plenty of lube, condoms…. Ah, and snacks!” The singer motions to the bottommost drawer and beckons Rain over, who peers over his shoulder. There’s bottles of water along with packs of jerky and other shelf stable packaged foods, even some bags of candies and chocolates.

“If you need anything you can page the brother on duty outside with the panel next to the door. They’ll do their best to accommodate you if possible.”

“I’m… being locked in here… Alone?” Rain looks over to Copia, eyes slightly wide and worried. The look tugs at Copia’s heart, but much as he wished he could he knew he wasn’t able to spare the time to attend to his ghoul through the entirety of his heat.

“I’m sorry, but yes. It’s standard procedure, to keep you from accidentally setting all of the church ghouls into heat and rut. You understand how much of a mess that would be, yes?” The ghoul sighs but nods, looking down at his feet as Copia pats his shoulder reassuringly before leaving. The door clicks shut and he hears the electronic locks clicking into place, sealing him inside the little prison by himself.

Rain stands there, staring at the bedsheets as the weird feeling in his gut steadily grows stronger, like tendrils wriggling through his guts and touching all the most intimate parts of him with featherlight caresses. A shiver runs down his spine and it’s suddenly as if the drag of the cloth of his uniform against his skin to too abrasive, leaving him itching to be rid of the garments. He removes his mask and balaclava, setting them atop the dresser and working at the buttons of his tailcoat with shaky fingers, finding it hard to concentrate but forcing himself to go slowly, not wishing to be admonished later for having destroyed his clothing. Finally free of his trappings and folding them neatly with his mask Rain lays back onto the sheets, staring forlornly at the ceiling as arousal begins to build in his groin, wishing he had someone,  _ anyone _ , to be with him.

* * *

Omega can’t help but begin to worry a little.

It was very unlike Rain to not respond to his messages or seek him out once back from tour. It had been three days since the band had returned home to the church and he figured to give the timid water ghoul a day or two to sleep off the jetlag and adjust to being back amongst their unholy brethren. But now, three days later and not a word from him, Omega wonders if something happened to the bassist on tour that wasn’t being said.

The wing of the church the band ghouls had their rooms in was not as quiet as the one the older band ghouls had theirs, siblings of sin seen scurrying around the halls cleaning or carrying laundry, or just gathering in small packs to gossip and giggle amongst themselves. They all straighten up and nod in deference to the elder ghoul, the gossipers quickly running off when he gives them a questioning glance.  _ Probably shirking their duties,  _ he thinks, having much more important things to worry about than delinquent humans.

The band ghoul’s suites were in a newer addition to the church building, having been built to accommodate the larger number of ghouls the band now fielded. The scent of new paint still tickled Omega’s nose to the point where he wonders how any of them could stand it as he lets himself into the common room, spying the two air ghoulettes pouring over a handful of magazines strewn across a large table.

“Excuse me, ladies,” he calls out, knocking on the wall next to the door to get their attention. Both ghoulettes look up, the shorter of the two giving him a bright smile.

“Oh, to what do we owe this visit from our dear elder brother,” she purrs, her taller compatriot giggling softly. Omega can’t help smile at them, glad they weren’t as standoffish as most of the other air ghouls in the church.  _ Old habits and prejudices die hard _ ... 

“I’m looking for Rain, have either of you two seen him,” he asks, though his heart drops when they both shake their heads.

“No, we’ve not seen him since dinner last night.” They both shrug and the taller one gives him a smile. "He might be holed up in his room, sometimes he does that after tour to decompress. The crowds still overwhelm him a bit, the poor thing."

"Thank you, I'll just go see--" Omega begins, turning to go down the hall and find Rain's room on his own, when a voice growls at him.

"What do  _ you _ want with him?"

The voice belongs to a reedy ghoul with sharp orange eyes and long hair, sneering at the quintessence ghoul from where he's leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Omega blinks, wondering if the small ghoul is trying to be intimidating. Though it has little effect on him, the quintessence ghoul is not used to outright hostility from the church ghouls; back in Hell this would be common depending on the tribe they were from, but here they all tended to act cordially amongst themselves.

“I just wanted to talk to him, is all,” Omega explains, choosing not to bristle at the tone.

“You’re old band, aren’t you,” the small ghoul seethes, sneering at Omega. Now Omega does react, straightening his back and looking down the nose of his mask at the other ghoul. “He’s not here, so leave. Go back to the other former band ghouls, we don’t want you here. He’s  _ our _ bassist, go fuck around with that grumpy asshole of a water ghoul you all have.”

“Dew,” the shorter ghoulette hisses in warning, her taller counterpart trying to take the sting from the small ghoul’s words.

“I’m sorry, please don’t mind Dewdrop, he’s a bit… abrasive.” She shoots Dewdrop a scathing glare in an attempt to get him to back down, but that just makes the guitarist snarl back at her.

“No, they can fuck right off and stop bothering Rain.  _ We’re _ the band now, not them, and they best remember it and give us the respect we deserve,” Dewdrop growls, showing his fangs at the quintessence ghoul. Omega decides this isn’t worth his time, holding up his hands and shaking his head.

“Alright, fine, I’ll leave. Sorry to bother you all, have a nice day.” He nods to the two ghoulettes then to Dewdrop, turning on his heel and heading back into the hallway, waiting till the door was closed behind him to let out the breath he was holding.  _ If I were Alpha I’d have torn him to pieces, _ he muses, lifting his mask up by the pointed chin and rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

“Omega, what brings you down to this part of the castle,” a smooth, accented voice asks. Letting his mask fall back into place, Omega turns to find Cardinal Copia regarding him with a congenial look.

“Good afternoon, your Eminence.” He stands to attention and nods to the red-robed clergyman. “I came looking for Rain, I wanted to see how he was doing after the tour. I heard he took a fall onstage and wanted to give him a look just to be safe.” It wasn’t entirely a lie; Omega  _ did _ want to make sure that the water ghoul was fine, but it wasn’t the  _ only _ reason he wanted to see him.

“How very kind of you to look after your fellow ghouls so,” Copia murmurs, giving Omega a smile. “Alas, I must inform you that he is not available to be seen, at this time.”

“No? Is something wrong, is he ill,” Omega asks in a worried voice. “Is it something I can help with?”

“Ah, no, nothing to be alarmed about,” Copia assures him, waving his hand dismissively. “I was just on my way to inform his bandmates, but he is in heat. I have just come from escorting him to the cells myself.”

“Oh.” Omega feels a pang of pity for Rain; heats were never fun to deal with in the clergy, being sequestered alone when they wanted nothing but to have companionship. But this would be his first heat outside of Hell, and on average it was the worst they would have. Something about how their bodies dealt with the binding magic to the church and the differences in energy on Earth versus back in Hell seemed to make their cycles much more intense and drawn out than usual. “I... hope he does alright through it. The first one is always the worst.”

“Indeed. But, I must go and give the news to the rest of the band. Have a good day,” the cardinal says, excusing himself and heading into the band ghoul’s quarters.

Omega heads down the halls back towards his own quarters, his pace brisk and mostly ignoring the siblings of sin milling about, not wanting to be seen hanging around the band ghoul’s wing after Dewdrop’s outburst at him earlier. His phone dings softly in his pocket and he pauses, pulling it out and checking the notification, curiously finding it to be a message from Rain.

Omega stares at his phone, paralyzed with indecision by the message: a single word, ‘ _ Please _ ’.

He has two options, neither with good consequences. The most obvious option, the one he  _ should _ choose, is to ignore the message, go back to his room, go to sleep, and try his damnedest to not think about fucking his best friend’s grandson. Or he could go downstairs, let himself inside and help Rain through his heat, finally give in to the desire he has felt for the young ghoul since the first day in the study when he began to teach him English.

Unlocking his phone he hovers over his messages, thoughts and feelings a swirling mass as he debates what he’s going to do. Eventually he shakes his head and sighs, opening a conversation and sending a quick message before pocketing his phone and going on his way through the church.

The brother at the desk looks up and greets him by name when Omega enters the dungeons, the quintessence ghoul nodding to him.

“Which cell is Rain in,” he asks, the clergyman blinking at him before shaking his head.

“He’s in lockdown, you can’t see him. You know the rules as good as any,” he cautioned, though Omega nods quickly.

“I know. I’m joining him, put me on the roster, please.” He was not normally so brusque, but it’s as if the knowledge that Rain was all alone, in heat,  _ wanting him _ , was enough to set himself into rut. The brother hesitates only a moment longer before clicking away at the screen, adding Omega’s name onto the list. The quintessence ghoul doesn’t wait for him to finish, already turning and following the faint scent of Rain down to a door further in, the panel lighting up green as he reaches for the handle and lets himself inside.

The odor hits him like a punch to the gut; cloying and heady, with an underlying musk. It makes a fire burst to life in his gut and Omega pauses, taking a deep breath and savoring the scent of Rain’s heat before pulling off his mask and balaclava. He nearly drops his mask when his eyes dart up to the bed and finds Rain on his stomach, legs spread and whimpering softly into the mattress as he ruts into the sheets, one arm reaching back and bent awkwardly as he attempts to thrust two fingers inside himself. Even without the whines that come from Rain’s throat Omega knows how frustrated he must be without a proper partner, how inadequate his fingers must feel instead of a cock filling him. The quintessence ghoul stalks over, setting his mask onto the dresser next to Rain’s before kneeling beside the water ghoul on the bed, rubbing a hand soothingly along his back.

“Hey, it’s alright, I’m here. I’ve got you,” Omega purrs, noting how Rain’s thighs were shiny with slick without the presence of a bottle of lube anywhere to be seen. Rain turns his head to the side to look at him with a slightly dazed look, eyes dark and glazed over in desire.

“Please,” he whispers, voice cracking and his tongue darting out to wet his lips. Omega shushes him softly, his hand running down the prominent jut of Rain’s spine to his tail, gently pushing the appendage to the side so he can side two fingers down between his asscheeks and rub them against the puckered flesh of his hole. Omega hums in delight when he finds Rain slick and open, one thick finger sliding inside him with ease so he pulls it out and quickly adds a second. It’s much more of a stretch now, Rain squirming and chirping as he’s worked open slowly, Omega pushing the digits in till they’re buried up to his knuckles.

“Oh, Lucifer you are such a sweet, tight thing. Gonna feel so good around my cock, aren’t you,” Omega chuckles deeply, scissoring his fingers apart to make Rain moan and pant for air. He pulls his fingers free then thrusts them back inside harshly, fucking Rain’s tight hole with his fingers, drinking in the strangled sounds of pleasure falling from his lips and marveling at the sheer amount of slick his body produced around his fingers. After a few minutes, just before Omega decides to pull his fingers out and replace them with a different part of his anatomy, Rain shudders and moans, tail snapping and thumping against the sheets before the muscles around Omega’s fingers spasm and clench tight. Omega slows the thrust of his fingers to a drag, smiling down at the water ghoul as he collapses bonelessly onto the mattress.

“Beautiful,” the quintessence ghoul purrs, slowly pulling his fingers free and wiping them off on Rain’s thigh. “That the first one,” he asks, not sure if Rain would be cognizant enough to answer in the aftermath of his orgasm. The water ghoul nods slightly, eyes closed and breathing harshly as he comes down from the rush of bliss. Omega hums, taking the time during the lull to undress himself without ripping apart his uniform, folding the clothing neatly and stacking his shoes next to Rain's by the door.

“You smell so good,” Omega rumbles as he returns to the bed, nudging Rain over onto his back. The smaller ghoul sighs softly and complies, allowing Omega to strip the soiled sheet from the bed and toss it to the floor before kneeling on the mattress. He can’t help but give in to the desire to lean down and drag his tongue through the streaks of cum still left on Rain’s groin, the scent of him entirely too enticing for him to resist.  _ Been too long since you’ve been with anyone to let this little thing set you off so easily. Been too long since your last rut too, _ he thinks to himself, purring at the salty, bitter taste of Rain’s cum and rising up to slot their mouths together in a bruising kiss, thrusting his tongue inside the smaller ghoul’s mouth and sharing the taste of him.

“Taste good too,” he purrs when he pulls away, licking his lips for emphasis. Rain watches him with half-lidded eyes, smiling drunkenly as he reaches up and runs his fingers through Omega’s short hair.

“Fuck me, Omega,” he giggles, running a finger along the curve of his horns, “treat me like you treat your guitar.” The quintessence ghoul huffs a laugh and rolls his eyes, nipping at Rain’s neck before leaning back.

“You want me to fuck you, hm,” the big ghoul growls, a primal edge to his voice. “Oh, I’ll fuck you alright, fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk after.” Omega gives Rain a wicked grin as he drops his glamor, peachy human skin melting into ghoulish gray, and grasps his cock. Rain’s eyes widen when he finally notices Omega’s member, mouth falling open as the quintessence ghoul strokes himself languidly.

“Oh,” Rain breathes, at a loss for words at the sight of it.  _ Girthy _ didn’t do it justice, how it filled his hand and then some, with prominent veins and a more pointed head.

“Surprised, hm? Still want it,” Omega chuckles, tracing the edge of the crown with a finger, a bead of precum glistening on the tip. The water ghoul bites his lower lip and nods, spreading his legs in invitation. Omega hums, taking a moment to reach over and yank open the dresser drawer to pull out a bottle of lube. Popping the cap one handed he pours some into his hand and slicks his cock, reaching down and sliding a couple of fingers inside the water ghoul to add the lube to Rain’s own slick, preferring to err on the side of caution while he was still in his right mind. Pulling his fingers free and earning a soft hiss from Rain, Omega wipes the remaining lube off onto the sheets and positions himself, pushing Rain’s legs over his shoulders and gripping his hips.

Omega takes a moment, lasting what seems like forever but in reality only a couple of breaths long, to catalog the image below him: Rain’s eyes glittering lust-bright and his lips slightly parted, of the crimson flush creeping across his pale skin, the smooth curve of his erect cock between his lifted and spread legs, trying to commit this image to memory before he’s overtaken by rut. The quintessence ghoul gives him a slow smile then rocks his hips forward, burying half his cock inside Rain in a smooth, slick motion.

Rain’s reaction is perfect, mouth falling open as he gasps for air, eyes widening then fluttering shut. He stuffs his fingers in his mouth to muffle the sound he makes, shuddering and arching his back as he pants for air, tail slapping at the sheets. And the look of him holds nothing compared to how he feels, so unbelievably tight and hot around his cock. Omega takes another moment to savor the initial thrust before pulling out then snapping his hips forward again, sheathing himself fully on the second go. He picks a brutal pace, all fast, harsh thrusts that fill the room with obscene sounds, quickly pushing Rain into his second orgasm before Omega has even begun to break a sweat. The water ghoul wails around his fingers shoved in his mouth, back bowed as he shudders and paints his abdomen with his cum, panting for air.

As the euphoria begins to ebb Rain expects Omega to stop, or maybe even just slow down, but the big ghoul fucks him straight through his orgasm and keeps on going without missing a beat. Dragging his eyes up Rain whimpers softly at the intense look on Omega’s face now that he’s fully in rut, the kind, compassionate part of him shoved into the backseat by his need to fuck. Reaching up Rain clings to his broad shoulders, claws digging into Omega’s back as he loses himself in the sensations. His erection hadn’t gone completely down after cumming the second time and already was rising again, reacting to the overload of hormones and pleasure assaulting him.

“Omega… O-omega,” Rain pants, whimpering as the quintessence ghoul drives on, hips pistoning and pounding into him. A soft string of pleas fall from his lips as each slam of the head of Omega’s cock into his prostate sends a jolt of pleasure through his body, again enveloped by the need to be fucked. A thin sheen of sweat covers their bodies, both of the ghouls panting and Rain again crests, whimpering and moaning as his third orgasm crashes over him, cock dribbling only a few small streaks of cum. Omega feels his own end is close and grunts, his thrusts becoming sloppier as Rain tightens around him. Just before his orgasm hits he feels a heavy pressure settle in his groin, and before he can pull out he shudders and cums, knot filling and locking the two ghouls together. Rain shouts as he’s stretched out even wider around the knot, shuddering and squirming till Omega snarls and presses a hand on his chest to keep him still.

“Stop… stop moving, you’ll make it worse,” he groans, wincing when Rain shifts and tugs at the knot. Finally the water ghoul goes still, both of them focused on regaining their breath. Gently Omega lowers Rain’s legs off his shoulders, trying to find a comfortable position while he waits for his knot to deflate. He felt worn out and tired, and from the dazed way Rain was looking up at him it seemed the water ghoul was most likely feeling the same. Omega reaches down and lazily drags his fingers through the streaks of cum on Rain’s chest and smears it over his lips, grinning as Rain takes the digits into his mouth without hesitation.

“Such a beautiful, filthy thing you are,” he purrs, shuddering at the slick feel of Rain’s tongue winding around his fingers. “Bet you love my knot stretching you, hm?”

“Y-yes, feels so… so good,” Rain gasps, voice soft and hoarse. Omega chuckles and pulls his fingers from Rain’s mouth, wiggling his hips to test the give. His knot was finally starting to abate and he gently works himself free, Rain whimpering softly at being left empty. Omega shushes him softly and settles onto his side, pulling Rain against him and curling around him.

“Sleep, we’ll need all the rest we can get,” he murmurs, nuzzling Rain’s hair softly, “gonna be a long couple of days, this is only the beginning.”


	10. Longing

#  X. Longing

Omega doesn’t really know what day it was, much less what time it was when they wake up. He groans softly as Rain shifts and slides from the bed, blinking his eyes open and watching the water ghoul wince and stagger into the bathroom. Pushing himself up he rolls off the bed, grunting as sore muscles scream in protest to the movement but needing to get up and have a piss. In the bathroom he finds Rain bracing his arms on the sink, looking tired and worn out as he scrubs a toothbrush against his fangs, and slides past him to relieve himself. Omega can feel Rain’s eyes following him but doesn’t meet them, flushing the toilet then shuffling to the sink and nudging Rain to make room with his hip. He washes his hands then splashes cold water on his face, sighing softly and debating on going back to bed for a few hours more sleep. “How do you feel,” he asks Rain, eyeing the multitude of cuts and bruises scattered across Rain’s skin, lingering on the more vibrant marks from teeth and fingertips. All the marks scream ‘Omega was here, this is mine’, making satisfaction curl warm and heavy in his gut.

“Uhm, sore,” Rain mumbles, spitting toothpaste into the sink and throwing the brush away before shrugging, “but not bad. Just… worn out.” It seems he’s finally on the tail end of his heat, yawning again before pushing away from the sink and shuffling back to the bed, his limp tail swaying to the side with every other step to show off cum-streaked thighs from their last coupling. The sight makes the satisfaction coil tighter, demanding that Omega go and fuck him again, fill him up and etch himself into the smaller ghoul’s body in every possible way.

Omega takes a deep breath, pulling the scent of Rain into his lungs from around them. They’ve fucked so much in however long it’s been that he’s nearly lost count; Omega has had him pressed up against the shower wall, in the tub, bent over the sink. They’ve anointed every surface possible with sweat and cum, had Rain bent over every flat surface he could get him on, pressed up against every wall and even the locked door. Omega has tackled him to the floor, fucked him roughly again the cold hardwood and decorated it in splatters of cum.

Cock twitching as blood rushes to it Omega takes another deep breath, looking back into the room as Rain flops onto the bed. Memories flash through his mind of Rain on his back, one or both legs thrown over his shoulders. Of Rain on his knees with his plush ass in the air, on his side with one leg held up, straddling his hips and riding him, his back pressed to Omega’s chest and his head tilted back against his shoulder with thighs spread wide by the quintessence ghoul’s legs, or kneeling in front of Omega as he deepthroats his cock. One specific coupling is very clear in his mind’s eye: Rain’s thighs straddling his neck and shoulders as Omega fucks him with fingers and long ghoulish tongue. He was still tight and oversensitive at that point, mewling desperately at the feeling with his lips stretched around the girth of Omega’s cock, doing his best to bob his head and suck him off.

Biting down on his bottom lip to keep in a deep growl, Omega stalks back to the bed and flops down onto his side, pulling Rain to him and lifting one long leg up and into position. They both sigh softly as Omega slides in without much resistance, Rain now loose and open after so many rounds of being pounded by his thick cock, still slicked up with lube, cum, and his own slick that nearly gushes out of him as he’s penetrated again. The water ghoul still clenches his muscles around him eagerly, chirping and trilling and moaning encouragement as Omega fucks him roughly, the heavy weight of his testicles slapping harshly against Rain’s ass with each snap of his hips.

“Demons, if things were different,” Omega groans, biting and kissing the back of Rain’s neck, “I’d fill you with so many kits.” He snakes the arm not holding Rain’s leg aloft around him, large callused hand splaying out on the soft flesh of Rain’s lower abdomen for emphasis before trailing up to pinch and roll his nipples between rough fingers. The water ghoul moans and rocks into the thrusts, one hand gripping the sheets while the other clings to the hand holding up his leg, the teeth and lips on his neck driving him slowly crazy.

“Give you all of them if I could,” whimpers Rain, digging his claws into Omega’s arm. He wants so badly to reach down and stroke himself though he knows Omega would growl and slap his hand away, instead resorting to whining softly as he presses his hips back to push Omega deeper inside him. Omega takes the hint, however, the hand toying with his nipples skating down to grab his leaking cock and pump it in time with his pistoning hips. Rain moans wantonly, rational thought dropping away as he submits himself to the tide of pleasure and the base instinct to be taken, squirming against Omega as the dominant ghoul works them both to another orgasm. They both feel completely drained afterward, the urge sated for the moment and letting them fall back asleep.

* * *

“I’m sorry.”

The words grab Rain’s attention, making the water ghoul look up from toweling himself dry to find Omega looking at him with a worried expression.

“Why? What for?” Rain can’t help but cast about, looking for something that would make the quintessence ghoul feel the need to apologize. He can’t seem to find anything that would make sense and instead chirps curiously at him, tilting his head in a silent question.

“All of,” Omega pauses, sighs, “all of _ those _.” A thick finger traces the outline of his fangs along the curve of Rain’s shoulder, making the smaller ghoul shiver under the touch. They both take a moment to look at all the marks over, Rain observing himself in the mirror. It was different than last time, when he was covered in Dewdrop’s marks, he notes, the bruises on his hips where Omega gripped them harshly didn’t make him feel sick, but instead warm and safe.

“It’s fine,” Rain says, smiling up at Omega. He wants to step close and hug him tight, wants to lean up and kiss him till he couldn’t breathe. But Omega is shaking his head, looking apprehensive and worried as he finishes wiping the water from his skin with his own towel.

They’d woken in the night, sleepily fumbling together till they laid on their sides, chest to chest and kissing lazily, Omega taking both their cocks in hand and stroking them together in a slow rhythm. It had lasted longer than anything else they’d done, and despite not having any penetration the resulting climax had left both ghouls with a bone-deep sense of satisfaction. When they woke up again neither was clouded over with the urge to fuck, their rut and heat finally having run its full course and out of their system, leaving them to clean themselves up and put themselves to rights.

“It’s, it’s not fine,” Omega sighs again, reaching out and laying his fingertips gently on Rain’s shoulders. “I should have had better control over myself, I’m not a young buck anymore to go off like this…” The aether gathers under his fingertips, soothing but with a chill to it as he uses it to heal the bruises and scabbed over cuts.

“Oh, d-don’t,” Rain chirps, pulling away from Omega then looking sheepishly at his feet. “I… I want to, to keep them…” The quintessence ghoul watches Rain for a moment then lets his hands fall back to his sides, nodding and looking away. That dominant, possessive part of his soul crows happily, delighted that Rain would wear his marks on his skin. But that is soon quashed down by the massive sense of guilt that floods through him.

_ Look what you did _ , it whispers in his ear, _ look at the lines, the bruises, the cuts. You know he feels them, you know they hurt. You know what Stan would do to anyone that did not even a fraction of what you’ve done to one of his blood. _ Omega slides past Rain and into the room, stomach roiling and making him want to puke as he starts to dress. The voice in his head was right, he knew that much. He feels like he’s taken advantage of Rain, used this soft trust he has to manipulate him into wanting him.

_ End it now, before it gets too late. You’ve heard how he idolizes the ghoul you used to be, you would just disappoint him in the end. You aren’t worth it, or him. Let him go to find someone that is not some old, broken ghoul… _

“Omega…?”

Looking up from tugging on his pants, he finds Rain standing nearby, looking at him with a confused, and horribly fragile, expression on his face. That face speaks volumes of the damage it would do should he say something now, so instead he gives him a soft smile.

“Let’s get dressed, we’ve been locked in here awhile now,” he offers, getting his tail through the special cutout in the back of his pants. “Would be nice to have some fresh air, huh?”

“Y-yeah,” Rain nods, returning the smile with a shaky one of his own. Omega helps him with his uniform, insisting on doing up the tiny buttons of his dress shirt and tying his tie, making sure it was nice and straight. Before they don their masks again Rain shifts nervously from foot to foot, tail twitching behind him and chewing on his lower lip.

“Um, Omega,” he chirps, bright blue eyes looking up at the quintessence ghoul and reminding him so much of where he got the color from. “I… um… t-thanks…”

Omega doesn’t know how to really answer, instead giving Rain a comforting smile and nodding his head before slipping on his balaclava and mask. Rain follows suit, still a little fidgety as he pulls the thin black fabric over his head, tucking the neck into the collar of his dress shirt before slowly lowering the mask over his head. It feels a little strange after not wearing it for a few days, a sadness that he can no longer see Omega’s face behind his own settling inside him, eyes following the big ghoul forlornly as he hits the call button on the intercom next to the door. He half listens as Omega speaks to the sibling of sin that was on duty at the desk, and a few moments later the locks slide open with a clicking noise, allowing them to finally leave.

The air outside the room was colder, almost crisp and bright, tickling Rain’s nose after spending so long locked in with Omega and breathing in his scent. A stout brother of sin, who looked like he could rip apart his cassock if he flexed his muscles the right way, raises a hand and nods to Omega in greeting as they pass but not speaking to them otherwise. They walked silently back up from the dungeons, winding their way through the halls till they pause at the familiar intersection.

“I’ll see you later, alright,” promised Omega, “Go get something proper to eat, and some more sleep. Heat takes its toll on the body, you’ll need a day or two to bounce back from it.” He tugs at the hem of his cassock to straighten it, giving Rain a little wave before turning and walking down the left path of the hall. He doesn’t see the sad look on Rain’s face but he can feel the weight of it, knows that if he turns around he’d see those blue eyes watching him despondently. _ If you turn around now and see that face, you’re done. Just keep going forward, don’t look back. _

Once he turns down the next hall to head out to the older section of the church that the previous band ghouls occupied some of the tension seeps away, but it’s only replaced with something else that churns sour in the pit of his stomach: guilt, again. Oily and insidious, seeping through his bones to make him feel like he’s stained all over. Grunting, he shoulders into their common room and nearly stumbles to one of the couches, dropping onto the cushion and pulling off the mask and balaclava so he can drop his head into his hands.

“Fuck,” Omega groans, scrubbing his hands over his face. “So focused on getting your dick wet you made a huge fucking mess, you idiot.” He’s glad the room is silent and empty, telling him his fellow ghouls are out somewhere else at the time and not here to witness his mental turmoil.

“Least you can think clearly, now that he’s not around to smell so damn enticing and keep destroying your resolve,” he sighs heavily, closing his eyes and rubbing his fingertips against his forehead. _ Things were so much simpler before you knew who Rain was, when you could just decide to have a good romp without any of the overbearing consequences looming up… _ Omega groans again, staring at the faded old rug under his feet as he plotted out a course of action. The first, most logical step would be to go find Rain and explain everything; who he was, how he knows Rain, and that he’s known all of this since their excursion to the lake... And then deal with whatever meltdown that would cause. After that, it was just damage control, trying to salvage what remains of their relationship, and hopefully being able to be near Rain enough to try and keep an eye out for him. _ It’s the least you can do, for Stanley and Juri, make sure nothing bad happens to their Minnow. _

With another heavy sigh Omega pushes himself up from the couch, heading back out into the church without bothering with his mask.

* * *

Rain watches Omega walk off down the hall, a miserable expression on his face. Once he can no longer see the big ghoul Rain’s shoulders sag and he lets out a held breath, turning and walking slowly back to the band ghoul’s rooms. He doesn’t know what he should have expected, but he’d hoped that maybe… maybe the time spent locked together would mean something to the older ghoul, would entice him to spend more time with Rain once they were allowed out. Though Rain knows he shouldn’t have hoped for anything at all he couldn’t help but feel hurt, something along the line of what he’d felt after the one time with Dew, though not nearly as sharp or raw.

_ Jilted, _ his mind supplies. _ But what did you really expect? Honestly, you should be happy he even came when you asked.That was gamble enough, and then what? He was going to fall in love with you, want to never leave your side? Who are you kidding, you idiot. He was doing what he always does: being nice. You took advantage of that kindness because you are selfish and want more than he would probably be willing to give you. And you basically forced his hand in the decision by begging him to come to you. _

_ But, he seemed to enjoy it… a lot, _ he tells the angry little voice.

_ And who wouldn’t? Little water ghoul in heat, practically begging to be fucked. By the time he got there you would’ve taken anyone and been happy for it. And what dominant ghoul, who you pushed into rut by the way, wouldn’t enjoy marking and claiming you? Dewdrop certainly did that one time, so what makes Omega so different? _

Rain pauses, stomach churning as he realizes that voice inside him was right. He knew Omega would always come to help, like every other time he asked for it. _ I couldn’t help it, _ he tries to explain as he walks swiftly down the corridors. _ I want him so bad, all of him. I’d cut out my own heart for him if he asked… _

Rain sighs, shoving the thoughts away as he gets to the door to the common room and slips inside. He takes a moment as the door shuts behind himself to pull his mask and balaclava off, setting onto a nearby bookshelf to scrub his hands over his face as he slowly walks to the hall with their bedrooms. Omega was right, he felt worn out and drained, like he could sleep for a week straight…

“Rain? You’re back,” calls a familiar voice, making Rain nearly stumble as he stops in his tracks.

“Dew? Yeah,” Rain mumbles, looking over to see the fire ghoul climbing off one of the couches and saunter over.

“Heard you were down locked up in heat,” Dewdrop went on, “Hope it wasn’t too hard on you, we’ve missed out three days of practice without yo-- wait.” The guitarist pauses, eyes narrowed to slits as his nose twitches, scenting the air. He crowds up against Rain despite what weak protests the water ghoul voiced, sniffing at his clothes and skin, then yanking Rain’s tie loose and pulling at his shirt, popping a few of the buttons off as he yanked the collar to the side to reveal a large, vibrant mark in the perfect shape of Omega’s teeth on the side of his neck.

“Him,” Dewdrop snarls, eyes going bright with rage as he bares his fangs. “_ Omega. _”

“D...Dewdrop…? What,” Rain whimpers, trying to shrink away from the angry fire ghoul. The guitarist rips open Rain’s shirt, sending buttons flying and pinging off the walls and floor, claws ripping through the silk tie. Without warning Dew grabs a fistful of Rain’s hair and uses it to jerk his head back, making the water ghoul yelp at the sudden sharp pain.

“You,” Dewdrop growls, voice gravelly and threatening, “are _ mine _!” Then he strikes forward, sinking his teeth into the pale column of Rain’s throat, sucking harshly to mark the skin. Rain cries out as Dew’s fangs pierce the skin, the scent of iron and salt filling Rain’s nose as blood drips down over his collarbone in hot streaks. He hisses as the fire ghoul pulls away, eyes bright like bonfires and making Rain shrink back from the sheer weight of his dominance.

“I claimed you first,” he snarls, licking the smears of blood from his lips, “should have been me with you.” Dewdrop’s nostrils flare as he breathes in Rain’s scent, eyes narrowing before grinning slowly. “I’ll just have to mark you up again, make sure everyone can see and tell that you’re _ mine _.”

“D-Dew, please…” Rain whimpers, that look sending an icy tendril of fear down his spine. He’s wondering if he’d be able to make enough noise to alert any of the other ghouls that were in their rooms, and if they’d be enough to pull Dewdrop off of him in the first place. Fate smiled upon him, though, as the door opens and a ghoul walks in, and his heart leaps in his chest when he finds it to be Omega.

“Rain, we need--” It takes a moment for Omega’s mind to process the scene, just long enough for the scent of hot blood to hit his nose, making his words die on his tongue. In an instant something seems to shift in him, Rain absently noting how Omega’s eyes glittered dark purple instead of pale blue.

“_ You, _” raged Dewdrop as he looks over to find Omega in the doorway, the hand in Rain’s hair gripping even tighter to make the water ghoul yelp and try to get Dew to let go. The fire ghoul snarls and shoves Rain away harshly, slamming him into the wall with a loud thud so he had both hands at the ready to fight.

Despite being agile and his strength fueled by rage, the resulting fight went nothing in Dewdrop’s favor.

With a vicious roar, both ghouls spring forward at the same time but Omega must have anticipated Dewdrop’s moves, grabbing Dew’s raised fist in one hand while the other slams into his gut. The blow winds him, Dew trying to gasp for air but unable to make his lungs work through the shock, giving Omega an opportunity to punch for his unguarded face. Rain thinks he can hear the crunch of Dew’s nose as Omega’s fist breaks it, the rest of the momentum snapping his head back and knocking the smaller ghoul back onto his ass. Dewdrop slides a couple of feet back before he scrambled to his feet, blood dripping from his nose to the hardwood floor as he sways to keep his balance.

Omega doesn’t waste the openings he makes, advancing and launching blow after savage blow, slamming his fist into whatever part of Dewdrop he can reach. Backed all the way to the wall, Dewdrop tries to disengage, though Omega snarls and grabs him by the throat, slamming the smaller ghoul into the wall to keep him from retreating further. There’s a resounding crack as his skull meets the hard stone, and by then the other band ghouls have heard the commotion, wandering out from their rooms to see what was going on.

“What in Satan’s name…?” Swiss asks, blanching as he saw Omega slam Dewdrop into the wall a second time, then rushes forward to try and make the big ghoul let go of Dew before he caused any permanent damage. Omega snarls at Swiss and shoves him away with one arm, nearly toppling the multi-instrument ghoul over. Aether and Mountain come running and the three of them grapple with the enraged quintessence ghoul, shouting and hissing and growling, claws scratching at flesh.

“What is the meaning of this,” shouts an accented voice from the door. Most of the ghouls look over to see Copia storming in, face a mask of rage. “Stop it at once! This is not how ghouls are to behave in the clergy!”

Aether, Mountain, and Swiss pull away with worried looks on their faces, glancing at Omega as he still does not let go of Dewdrop.

“I said stop this,” commands the cardinal, eyes going hard and back stiffening when Omega only snarls at him, baring his fangs and his fist tightening on the lead guitarist’s neck. “By Lucifer’s blackened wings, you _ will _ release him, _ ghoul _!”

Omega goes to slam Dew into the wall again, ignoring the cardinal entirely but with his last words power that is cold and sharp constricts around his entire being, forcing his hand to open and let Dewdrop fall limp to the floor. No matter how hard he fights against it Omega can’t move a single muscle, the binding magic of the church winding tighter and tighter around him, digging into him like thorns on a constricting vine.

“Over here, and kneel,” Copia barks, gesturing to the space in front of him and the magic pushes him to obey. He moves jerky and stiff, every movement bright, burning pain that sears his nerves till he’s kneeling subservient before the cardinal. Just as Omega began to move away Copia waves Aether forward to tend to the injured ghoul, the rhythm guitarist lunging forward and taking Dew’s head in his hands. A chill slips through the air as he directs his element to heal the most immediate damage, sealing his cracked skull and knitting the torn skin of his scalp back together. Aether lets out a held breath, nodding gently as if to himself.

“He’ll be alright, the worst is taken care of,” he sighs, wiping some of the blood off of the unconscious ghoul’s face with his fingers.

“Good. Now, what was all this about?” Copia gives the ghouls a hard glare, raising an eyebrow as he waits for an explanation.

“I don’t know, I heard something and came to look, found him,” Swiss nods to Omega, “beating the living shit outta Dew. Tried to get him to drop ‘em but I couldn’t, then Aether and Mountain joined in. Then you showed up.” The normally suave ghoul shrugs and sighs, “that’s all I know, I’m sorry.” Aether and Mountain both nod in agreement, then Copia comes forward a step and looks around the three big ghouls.

“And you? What do you have to tell me,” he asks, pointing a finger at the only other ghoul in attendance. The three band ghouls blink in surprise and turn around, finding Rain cowering in the corner nearby, Mountain flinching at the blood dripping from a wound on his neck.

“H-he… he just, s-snapped,” Rain whimpered, breath coming in short gasps, eyes wide in shock. “C-came back from… from downstairs and… and he d-didn’t like that, that I smelled of Omega and, and he just…” Rain shudders, absently raising his fingers to the bite mark on his neck, flinching and hissing in pain when he touches it.

“Oh, and why would he smell of _ you _, hm?” Copia directs his gaze to the kneeling quintessence ghoul, forced into submission by the binding magic.

“He… asked me to… be with him. For his heat,” Omega grits out, voice gravelly and deep. Aether winces, sighing tiredly as he looks down at Dewdrop.

“He, he said I was _ his _,” fretted Rain as he starts to tremble, “and he… he was g-going to m-make sure e-everyone k-knew it…”

“I shall handle him when he is in a condition to be… dealt with,” Copia nods, though he gives a pointed look at Aether, who quickly looks away. “Please see to Rain, I do not wish to have to replace _ any _ of you. Am I clear?” The three band ghouls nod, then stiffen again as they see Copia turn to regard Omega with a neutral expression.

“Whatever reasoning for your actions,” he begins, voice hard and cold, “you cannot be allowed to go off in such a manner. Violence amongst the ghouls is strictly prohibited, especially violence against the current band members, and will not be tolerated.” The cardinal lets out a disappointed sigh, motioning for Omega to stand then looking back to the band ghouls. “I shall return later to check on everything, once I have seen to his punishment.”

“What in the fuck…” Swiss groans, rubbing his hands over his face once the door shut behind Copia and Omega.

“Hey, Mountain, help me get Dewdrop to his bed,” Aether asks, gathering up the fire ghoul but still needing help carrying him. Mountain nods and goes over, grabbing Dew’s feet while Aether gets his shoulders, the two of them taking the fire ghoul away.

“Rain, need some help,” Swiss offers, the water ghoul startling and shaking his head, scuttling off to his own room without a word. Swiss sighs, going to get the cleaning supplies to clean the blood off the wall and floor before it dries.

* * *

“A… a week?!” Rain’s eyes go wide, breath catching in his throat.

“Yes. One week, chained in silver. It is set in church law,” Copia tells him, standing next to where the water ghoul was seated at the dining room table next to their kitchen. “And though I know he feels justified in his reasoning, and his name carries weight with the ministry, laws must be upheld and followed explicitly.”

“B-but… It, it wasn’t his fault…” Rain’s stomach twists into knots, mewling softly at the knowledge that Omega was being punished because of him. “It, it was Dewdrop that started it… he’s the one that… that…”

“I know, I know,” Copia sighs, reaching out to pat Rain’s shoulder gently in sympathy. “But, one could say that Omega was provoking Dewdrop, as he was warned by the fire ghoul to leave you be just before he went to you down in the cells.”

“He wouldn’t do that! He, he only came because I asked him…” Rain drops his head to the table, digging his fingers into his hair and tugging on the dark locks.

“I’m not saying that _ is _ why he did so, just that it is a reason to take into consideration. Many things are examined before we mete out punishment.” The cardinal squeezes Rain’s shoulder lightly, his eyes cataloging the marks he could see, lingering on the bandage taped to his neck. “But, how are _ you _, my ghoul? Did Aether not come to see to your own hurts?”

“O-oh,” Rain startles a little, hand going instinctively to cover the bandaged mark. “He, he was tired after uh, getting Dew fixed up. I didn’t want to bother him so… I, I just fixed it myself…”

"And otherwise, how are you? I have done some studying of ghouls, and know that the, ah I do not know the exact word for it, the time directly following a heat… makes one more sensitive." Rain blinks up at the cardinal, not really expecting that a human would know some of the intricacies of ghoulish behaviors to guess that he was most certainly not alright.

"I… I'm fine," Rain lies, terribly. He can see it in the set of Copia's face that he doesn't buy it one bit and sighs, shoulders drooping. "I'll be fine," he amends, running his claws through his hair and leaving it at that.

"If you are sure, I will not press," the cardinal sighs, as if disappointed that Rain did not wish to open up to him more. "But please know, should you need any assistance I will do whatever I am able to help. I care for you, and all of my ghouls, and do not wish to see you in distress." The water ghoul nods, eyes on the magazine he’d borrowed from Zephyr though not really paying it much attention. Only once the cardinal has left does he slumps against the table, blinking back tears that threaten to spill down his cheeks.

* * *

It feels like time slowed to a crawl, hours feeling like days and days never seeming to end. The entire first day he shut himself in his room, staying curled up in his bed pretending to sleep, drifting in and out of a restless doze. When he finally decides to crawl out from his blankets his neck is on fire, the bite mark throbbing sharply with every beat of his heart. Rain slinks into the bathroom and gingerly peels the bandage off, hissing when it pulls at the wound despite how slowly he goes.

It looked… bad. The skin was red and inflamed, hot to the touch around the torn skin and still oozing a slow stream of blood. _ Ought to let Aether look at it. Or go to the infirmary, _ he thinks, then sighs and gives a slight shake of his head. _ No, you deal with it, keep the pain. Omega is chained in blessed silver for a week because of you, you deserve it. _

The thought makes Rain feel sick to his stomach. He’s never had silver burns before, but he’s been told just how bad they were. He’s seen the scars on his grandfather’s arms and chest from the Celestial wars, carved into his flesh with blades of blessed silver. And because of him Omega was chained in the same stuff and left to endure the pain for an entire week. All because he was selfish, desperate and longing for the older ghoul till it made his head spin and what little sense he had go out the window. Rain closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down and not succumb to the writhing tendrils of guilt and anxiety coiling through his guts.

“Shower. Shower will help,” he mumbles to himself, shuffling from the sink to the shower stall, turning on the hot water as he stripped his pants and boxers off, kicking them off to the side before stepping under the water. The harsh spray pelts his skin, setting his wounded neck aflame in agony and making him bite back a scream, whimpering as he scrunches his eyes closed until he becomes used to the sensation. Once the pain fades to a more manageable level he shakily grabs the bottle of shower gel that Mistral had helped him pick out, something blue and smelling of spearmint. Rain whimpers again and his knees nearly buckle as the bite flares up under the soap, the pain making him dizzy for a moment. With a hiss he pushes through it, scrubbing the minty soap harshly into his skin and hair. He does at least rub it gently over the wound, not wanting to end up passing out from the pain to be found sometime later by one of his fellow ghouls unconscious and bleeding on the shower floor. After rinsing the soap away he stays under the hot water for what feels like an hour before tiredly shutting it off, leaning back against the wall for another long moment before stumbling out of the stall and grabbing for the towel from the shelf nearby. It feels like it takes more effort than Rain has in him to towel himself dry, feeling weak and wrung out as he shuffles to the sink and pulling the first aid kit from the cabinet beneath it.

This time, at least, he spreads a small amount of ointment over the wound before taping another bandage in place. With an exhausted grunt he drags himself back to his bed, wrapping up in his favorite blanket and curling up on the mattress, staring blankly at the wall till he eventually passes out again.

* * *

The second and third day went by just as excruciatingly slow. Rain finally feels hunger gnawing at his insides and ventures out of his room, huddling in a big, soft hoodie he’d bought somewhere during the tour to ward off the winter chill that seeped through the church halls. It also, thankfully, hid the bandage on his neck. The wound looked no better, still throbbing and burning, yet still he did his best to ignore it. The whole place was eerily silent, reminding Rain that he didn’t really know what time it was, but felt too out of it to bother going back to his room for his phone. He pads softly into the kitchen and rifles through the pantry, eventually settling on a package of ramen since it seemed to be the least offensive food that he could consider filling.

“Rain?” The soft voice makes the water ghoul start, which in turn pulls at his neck and makes him hiss in pain. When he turns around, he finds Mountain watching him from the other side of the kitchen, looking at him with a worried gaze.

“Hey,” Rain mumbles, shuffling to the stove and pulling a small sauce pot from the cabinet next to it. He liked Mountain; the tall ghoul was quiet, rarely, if ever, overstepping his bounds, and calm no matter what went on around him. That he was looking like that at Rain made it clear just how much the whole situation worried him, causing the sense of guilt plaguing Rain to spike hard in his chest.

“Here, I got it,” the drummer offers, walking over and taking the pot from Rain, setting it onto the stove then filling a measuring cup with water and pouring it into the pot. Rain just stands nearby, dulling watching the tall ghoul go about cooking the package of noodle soup, unable to think of anything to really speak to him about.

“You like them with egg mixed in, like how Swiss makes it?” Rain blinks then looks around a moment as he chews his bottom lip, then gives a half-shrug.

“I, I guess,” he ventures, watching a little more closely as Mountain cracks an egg into a bowl and scrambles it up, waiting till the noodles were almost completely cooked to slowly add it in as he stirred. He lets it cook for a minute longer then pours the whole thing back into the bowl he had the egg in, taking it to the table and setting it down, waving Rain to sit. The water ghoul huddles over the steaming hot bowl, stomach growling loudly at just how good the ramen smelled.

“Are you okay,” Mountain asks, returning with a paper napkin and pair of chopsticks that he hands to Rain, along with a cup of water that he sets next to the bowl. Rain takes the chopsticks and prods at the noodles, looking down at them to avoid making eye contact.

“I… I’ll be fine,” Rain sighs, going to his default answer. Mountain sits gingerly down in the chair across from him, looking down at his hands quietly as Rain begins to eat.

“But you aren’t, right now,” Mountain went on, looking up at Rain. “Being caught between two dominant ghouls, after heat… I know it hurts.” Rain can’t help but flinch at the words, staring down into his bowl. “They’re supposed to take care of you, nurture you, not… that.” He can see Mountain gesturing to his neck from the corner of his eye, making him guess he either smelled the blood beneath the bandage or could tell from his mannerisms that Rain was still hurting.

“My fault,” Rain mumbles before slurping more noodles, not wanting them to go cold and mushy. “I should’ve kept in mind how much of a possessive jerk Dew can be…”

“He marked you on tour, didn’t he?” Mountain places his elbows on the table and laces his fingers together, propping his chin up on the bridge they made.

“How did…?”

“You were really off that one ritual, when you fell. And then Dew was being almost nice for a few days after,” Mountain explained, then blushed a little as he dropped his eyes. “And… you smelled of him. _ Very _ strongly… So, he either marked you, fucked you, or, uh, both.”

“Both,” admits Rain, softly under his breath. He then eats the rest of the noodles and drinks down the soup, sighing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I won’t judge you for your decisions, just… Dewdrop is like playing with actual fire, no pun intended,” Mountain warns, reaching out and gently patting Rain on the shoulder opposite his wounded neck. "We all care for you, Rain. We don't like seeing you hurting."

"I know… I, I'll be careful from now on," sighs the bassist, nodding slowly and staring at the tabletop. "I didn't mean to make you all worry… I'm sorry…"

"It’s alright, just… think it through a little more next time?” Mountain tries to give Rain a reassuring smile, pulling his hand away and looking to the side as an awkward moment of silence stretched between them. “So, uh… Want something else to eat?”

* * *

It was bound to happen at some point, Rain knew, and dreaded when it did.

On the morning of the third day Rain was sitting on the edge of his bed, head held in his hands as it throbbed and his vision spinning slowly when the door opened. He looks up with a tired expression, wanting to chide Dewdrop on his disregard for privacy and just walking into other ghoul’s rooms but not having the energy to do it.

“You look like shit,” remarks Dew, standing in front of Rain and looking him over with a narrow, sharp gaze. There’s not even a single bruise left on Dewdrop’s skin, nothing to indicate he had nearly been turned into a ragdoll and had his brains splattered on the common room wall just three days prior.

“No thanks to you,” Rain mumbles back, knowing he needed to get into the bathroom and change the bandage again. It had started bleeding during the night and the thick pad of gauze was stained rusty red in multiple spots.

“Whatever, what’s wrong with your neck?” Dew crowds in close, sniffing as he reaches over to tug at the sodden bandage. Rain hisses and tries to push him away, Dewdrop instead just ripping the bandage off in a quick jerk. Rain bites down hard on his bottom lip to stifle the cry of pain that it tears from him down to a whimper, the pain making his head go dizzy and everything start to spin, stomach roiling.

“Unholy fuck,” Dewdrop gasped, eyes going wide as he sees the wound with it’s angry red flesh showing through the smear of blood that wells up in the deep punctures and slowly drips down his otherwise sickly-pale skin. “Rain, that’s infected, why the fuck haven’t you gotten it looked at? You damned idiot water ghoul!”

“Not like you _ care _,” grunts Rain, trying to stand to go get another bandage from the bathroom. Dewdrop won’t let him, however, pushing him back to the bed and crowding over him with a snarl.

“Bull_ shit _ ! If I didn’t care I wouldn’t fucking be here! You’re _ mine _, so I have to look after you,” he asserts, giving Rain an angry look, arms crossed over his chest.

“Care? _ Yours?! _ ” Rain surges upward, the sudden onset of anger burning away all the pain and the guilt. He jabs a finger into Dewdrop’s chest, snarling at the shorter ghoul. “I am not your _ thing _! I never have been, and never will be! I won’t be another placid toy for you to fuck around with and break, then discard and go to the next one! Just because, because you’re the lead guitar doesn’t mean you own any of us. I pick who I belong to, not you!”

The fire ghoul’s eyes are wide as he stares at Rain, mouth agape as he has a hard time processing that the quiet water ghoul has snapped on him.

“Just because you’re mixed blood,” Rain barrels on, “doesn’t mean you have to keep acting like you have to prove something! We don’t care if one of your parents was a water ghoul, it doesn’t make this a contest to see who the biggest, meanest ghoul here is. So just… fucking calm down and leave me alone.” Rain is shaking by the time he finishes, jaw clenched shut and nostrils flaring as he breathes harshly through his nose.

Dewdrop’s face is a mask of shock, stunned speechless by Rain’s tirade. His cheeks flush dark and he snaps his mouth shut, turning on his heel and fleeing from the room without a word. Rain is left shaking, the adrenaline and anger washing away and leaving him feeling dizzy and empty. He’s breathing hard, heart racing in his chest as the pain returns in full, making his knees buckle and dumping him to the floor. He whimpers softly, curling in on himself as he fights of a wave of nausea that bubbles up. 

Eventually all goes black, everything fading to soft velvet.

* * *

“Rain? Rain!”

He groans, head splitting worse than ever. Everything was so loud, sounds like spikes being driven into his skull. There’s hands on him, feeling so cold against his burning skin and making him want to shrink away from the contact but he was just too weak to do so. The chill grows, seeping deep into his body until he begins to shiver, whimpering softly and trying to curl up on himself to conserve his body heat. Then comes another sensation, a strange one that he can’t quite put a name to, almost as if there were something alive and wriggling under his skin, poking and prodding and twisting things into knots that he didn’t even know were there.

And then, darkness again.

* * *

“Oh, fuck,” Rain groans, sitting up and rubbing his hands over his face.

“Good, you’re awake,” a tired and exasperated voice murmurs from next to his bed. Rain blinks, looking over to find Aether yawning as he sits up from his desk chair, looking like he hadn’t slept in awhile.

“Aether? What’s going on?” His head felt full of cotton and weird, rubbing absently at his neck and pausing when he doesn’t get the expected jolt of pain and feels no bandage.

“I went to look in on Dewdrop and see how he was holding up, he mentioned how bad your neck was and I came to see, found you passed out on the floor bleeding, burning up from fever,” the big ghoul explains, watching Rain as he climbs out from his bed and totters over to the bathroom, clutching at the sink as he stared into the mirror, on hand tracing fingers along the healed scar in the ragged shape of Dew’s teeth.

“It, it’s…” Rain breathes, blinking sleepily at his reflection.

“Yeah, healed it up and cleared out the infection, took more than we thought because you’d let it go for so long. Almost had to carry you down to the infirmary and put an IV in.” Aether sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “Why didn’t you say something? I’d have fixed it up sooner if I knew.”

“I… sorry…” Sighing, Rain returns to the room, looking down at the floor as he cheeks went hot with shame. Aether stands and hugs the smaller ghoul, patting his back and ruffling his hair affectionately.

“Hey, it’s alright. Just… let me know next time, we were all worried about you,” advised the big ghoul, giving Rain a comforting smile before leading him to sit on the bed next to him. “Now, is there anything you want to talk about, get off your chest? Dewdrop was in… quite the state. You rattled him hard, whatever it was you said. Not that he didn’t deserve it,” he quickly adds, huffing a soft laugh.

“I…” Rain sighs again, folding his hands in his lap and looking down at them. “I feel so bad… I caused a lot of trouble. I, I heard Omega is being kept in silver for the whole week, because of this…”

“Hey, now, that isn’t your fault. Omega is responsible for his own actions,” Aether chides gently.

“I _ know _, but… but if I…” Rain shifts, wrapping his arms around himself and trills sadly. “I should have thought about it more… all of it. I just... “

“We all make mistakes, it’s alright.” The quintessence ghoul places a large hand on Rain’s leg, squeezing gently.

“I wanted him to be with me,” Rain whispers, blinking rapidly to dispel the tears that begin to well in his eyes. “I knew Dew would freak out, because of what he did on the tour, but… I, I _ love _ Omega.” Aether’s eyes widen at the admission and he lets out a slow breath.

“Rain… That… Probably isn’t a good idea,” the big ghoul said, voice very soft.

“Why? Why can’t I…?”

“You don’t really know him, Rain.” Aether shakes his head, fingers tightening just a bit on his leg. “He’s not what you think. The ghoul you know here is vastly different than the one he is in Hell.”

“What, what do you mean?” Rain’s chest aches at Aether’s objection, wanting to pull away from his fellow band ghoul but at the same time wanting to hear what he has to say.

“Omega…” Aether sighs, rubbing at his neck again. “He _ seems _ nice, kinda… always willing to help. But, as you’ve seen, there’s something much more _ violent _ lurking beneath that facade.” Aether looks up, as if organizing his thoughts before speaking. “Quintessence ghouls… tribes like ours, the healing tribes, follow a strict code: Never take the life of another. We are healers, we save people, not kill them. And Omega… Omega has broken that rule many, many times. And not just against Heaven, during the Celestial wars, but against his own people. There are accounts of him killing entire villages of ghouls for no reason most of us could fathom. He became so terrible he was shunned by his own tribe, by his own _ family _.”

“W-why…?” Rain’s eyes grow huge at the accusations, unable to imagine Omega carelessly killing anyone for no reason at all. But in the end he finds he doesn’t care about it and shakes his head. “No… it doesn’t, doesn’t matter. Killing is fine, we all kill to survive in Hell. Grandpa has killed many… angels and ghouls alike, to keep our home safe.”

“It’s not just that,” Aether goes on, a stricken look on his face. “He’s done _ other _ things… _ Terrible _ things…” When he next looks up at Rain, his eyes are hard, the soft brown faded to a bright purple. “He’s broken the minds of ghouls; destroyed memories and severed mate bonds, turned others into unthinking slaves to do whatever he said. Any old wounds healed by an aether ghoul he can unravel and reopen. And that’s just a little of what he has done.”

Rain sits in stunned silence, Aether sighing again and squeezing his leg gently. “I know it’s… Hard, to comprehend. I idolized him for most of my life, until I learned the truth. He’s the strongest quintessence ghoul alive, now that his father is dead, and it is power so _ wasted _ on him…”

“I…” Rain shakes his head slightly, turning to look at Aether directly. “I don’t… I don’t care.”

“You… what?” Aether is taken aback by the statement, staring at Rain in confusion.

“I don’t care. Whatever he’s done… It, it doesn’t matter. He’s always been kind to me… That’s… that’s all that matters,” stated the water ghoul as his expression softens and he looks away. “S-so long as he doesn’t hurt me… or, or someone I care about… That’s, that’s all I need.”

“Rain…”

“No, don’t,” Rain insists, shaking his head, shifting away from Aether. “I love him, and… and I’ll stand by that no matter what anyone says.”

It’s Aether’s turn to be shocked, though he recovers from it quickly. He gives a jerky nod and pushes himself to his feet. “Alright, I’ll leave it be,” he concedes, looking annoyed at his decision. “You’re no doubt hungry, so if you want to grab a shower and get cleaned up I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Thank you, that’d be nice,” Rain nods, his stomach growling as if in response. Aether chuckles softly, ruffling Rain’s hair once more before heading out, leaving Rain to get clean and organize his thoughts.

* * *

“I do not like to do this, but church law must be upheld.” Papa Nihil sighed wearily, looking sadly down at the ghoul on his knees in the center of the room. Sister Imperator, her face impassive, nods as she closes the tome before her.

“I think the punishment has already been carried out, the whelp was certainly taught a lesson,” the second Emeritus brother grumbles, his vote that Omega be spared and Dewdrop be held accountable the only one as such.

“The laws are clear, you heard the Sister recite them. Omega incited violence against a band ghoul, whether in defense of another ghoul or not, and thus broke the law.” The first Emeritus brother sits in his chair, back held straight and hands folded in his lap. For all of his boring sermons, he was entirely devoted to the church and its cause.

“Because he was provoked! That little shit has been given too long a leash and is only causing more problems!” The second slaps his hand on the table in emphasis. “He’s nothing but trouble, and will only get worse. Mark my words.”

“He is more than trouble; he is greatly accomplished in the musical arts, his playing rivaling Alpha’s. And, as we have seen, he is more than proficient on the bass, and well versed in the technical side of things. He is quite an asset, despite his… temperament,” Nihil points out, shaking his head sadly.

“And there is also one last consideration,” remarks a voice not yet heard during the meeting. All eyes turn to the side of the room to a figure lounging in his chair, feet propped up on the edge of the table he was sitting at.

“You have no say in this, Antonio,” the Second growls, mismatched eyes narrowed to slits at his younger half-brother.

“Oh, I am well aware, mio fratello Giovanni,” the third Emeritus smirks.

“I don’t see why you are even here, having been stripped of all your rank and duties for the foreseeable future,” Giovanni snarls.

“What is it you had to say, fratello?”

“See, Enzio is capable of courtesy, Gio; why can’t _ you _be?” Antonio waves his finger flippantly at his elder brother, making the retired antipope start to rise from his chair with the intention of throwing his younger half-sibling out of the room, stopped only by Nihil’s hand on his shoulder.

“Giovanni, calm yourself. Antonio, stop antagonizing your brother. If you have something to add, say it or be silent,” Nihil snaps, thumping the table with his other fist.

“Of course, honored father,” Antonio simpers, “I was simply going to point out that dearest Omega is _ certainly _capable of handling such situations without resorting to physical violence. He is, in fact, quite well known for his abilities at resolving conflicts peacefully.”

Giovanni gives the youngest Emeritus a suspicious look, not trusting the disgraced cleric in the slightest. “What game are you playing at, Antonio? Speaking out against your most favored ghoul… how unlike you.”

“I am merely stating a fact, nothing more,” he shrugs, gaze settled on the still figure of the ghoul in question. “Take it as you will.”

“Indeed,” nods Enzio, looking over to Papa Nihil on Giovanni’s right after a moment of silence. The other two clerics give him a nod and he turns back to look down at “I believe we have come to a conclusion.”

“Omega, I am loathe to say this, but we judge you to be in violation of church law. As such, for this level of offense you are sentenced to one week in the dungeons, chained in silver. I hope you take this time to reflect on your actions, and see that this never happens again.” Papa Nihil looks sternly at the ghoul, motioning for him to stand with one hand. Cardinal Copia steps forward from where he waited next to the door, nodding in deference to the assembled antipopes and Sister Imperator before gently leading Omega out of the chamber with a hand on his back.

“I am thankful that I was not required to invoke the binding magic again,” Copia speaks as he takes Omega downstairs. The quintessence ghoul merely grunts in reply, too busy with his own thoughts to bother with idle chatter. Once Copia had dragged him halfway across the church with the binding magic he’d finally calmed down enough to stop fighting it, the rage that had flooded through him draining away to leave him cold and empty. Copia had made him stand in his office till he could get the papas summoned to a meeting, finally letting up the binding before they left once Omega assured him he was in full control of himself.

Thankfully Copia goes silent for the rest of the trek to the dungeons, leading Omega through a maze of halls and passages to a wing of cells, some with various instruments of torture inside, other starkly empty.

“Remove your uniform save for your pants, if you please,” the cardinal directs, pausing outside of a particular cell with heavy reinforced bars, pulling a ring of keys from a pocket inside his own cassock and unlocking the cell door. He waves the ghoul forward once his clothing has been removed, folded neatly and left on the floor outside the cell, following him in and directing Omega to the back.

“I admit, I do not care for this, but like Papa said, the law must be upheld,” the human sighs, taking a set of silver fetters from a hook on the wall and kneeling to fasten them to Omega’s ankles, the chain linking them not even long enough to let his feet be a full shoulder-width apart. Omega grits his teeth, hissing as the blessed silver encloses tightly against his skin, already beginning to burn his flesh. Next, Copia snaps manacles around his wrists, pulling his arms up around his back to rest his fists against the upper portion of his spine. Another short chain is locked to the wrist cuffs, then to a wide silver hand that the cardinal settled around his throat, almost tight enough to choke when it is snapped shut.

“There. Now, seven days. Someone will check on you at least twice a day, to see that you are fed and watered, and not in any imminent danger of death.” With a last, final click Copia snapped the chain attached to the wall onto the ring on the back of the neckband, hobbling Omega to a very limited area of movement. “Before I go, I must ask… why?”

“I… am fond of Rain,” Omega admits with a pained sigh, shifting to sit back against the wall. The silver bit and burned into his skin, searing into his nerves.

“Ah. Well, I must ask that, in light of recent events, that you please do not pursue him any further. Dewdrop is a critical part of the current operation, and to have him injured or removed from service due to issues stemming from his… ah, _ temperament _ , it would set us back greatly.” Copia’s voice seemed congenial enough, though Omega could detect a steeliness to it that said ‘ _ I am asking but I expect this to be done _’.

“I’ll do what I can,” the quintessence ghoul mutters, closing his eyes and letting his mind drift with the pain, ignoring the human watching him coldly.

When he opens his eyes next, the cardinal is gone.

* * *

Silver wasn’t new to Omega. The searing pain of it against his flesh, the oily slick of corruption seeping into his blood, clouding judgement and making every heartbeat agony. All were old friends to him, considering the thick bands always worn around the ring finger of each hand were cast in silver. He’s worn those for so very long that they don’t even burn anymore, his body having built up a resistance to the metal over an extended period of time. But adding in the fetters, manacles, and the thick band locked tightly around his neck crushed what resistance he had, making it seem as if his system had never encountered the corrosive metal before.

Perhaps it was the amount of silver he was chained in, or maybe the length of time, but either way he found that silver poisoning brought with it a new side effect: hallucinations.

The first he knew wasn’t real. His father was long dead; Omega had buried him himself, along with the near entirety of his tribe, and inscribed his name on the memorial obelisk. So when the ghoul settled down on the hard stone floor next to him Omega sighs, chains clinking as he shifts to try and find a more comfortable spot.

“_ Chiron, you never seem to learn, _ ” the old ghoul sighs, muscles rippling under the lines of his tattoos. “ _ Violence is never the answer. It just leads to more violence, more pain. _”

“Shut up,” Omega growls softly, trying to ignore the spectre as it chided him.

“_ You would think, after everything, you would have learned that. But now you see what your anger, your violence, has wrought. The young ghoul is left alone and hurting, most likely to be set upon by the fire ghoul that you nearly killed. Had you backed off you might have diffused the situation, yet instead you chose to worsen it by attacking him. _”

“I said, shut up,” the quintessence ghoul seethed through gritted teeth.

“_ We do not kill, we do not hurt. We heal, we restore. We balance the scales. _”

“Fucking SHUT UP,” Omega roars, rolling over and trying to strike out, yet the vision is gone, leaving Omega panting as he tries to reign in his temper.

* * *

The second he also knew was not real, but his mind was so fogged by pain he would be hard pressed to acknowledge the fact.

“_ Gone and done it again, I see, _” the ancient ghoul sighs, lip curling in annoyance. For a brief moment Omega’s heart leaps in his chest at the sound of his old friend’s voice then immediately falls as the guilt surges back through him.

“Stan… I, I didn’t…” he whispers, blinking when he sees the gruff old lake spirit glaring at him from across the cell, blue eyes alight like flames.

“_ Taken a liking to my Minnow, have you? Let my Juri slip away from you, so you’re taking the next best thing, is it? _” Stanley’s eyes bore into him, voice harsh and accusing.

“N-no, it’s not… I swear, please,” begs Omega, having to turn away from that look. It cut to the quick, spiking guilt through him as if it were needles being punctured into his flesh.

“_ Made him scream and bleed, didn’t you? And because you were so hot to get your cock in him, you ended up pushing that idiot of a fire ghoul to hurt him even more. I’ve torn out throats for less, _” the lake spirit snarls, his deep, booming voice bouncing off the cell walls.

“I’m sorry…” Omega squeezes his eyes shut, trying to take measured breaths to keep himself under control. “I… I didn’t know at first. I promise…”

“_ But you still went for him after you found out, _ ” Stanley points out sharply. “ _ Knowing didn’t change a damn thing. Should be fucking ashamed of yourself. _”

“I am, I am,” gasps Omega, twitching as pain flares through his veins. He forces himself back to his side, determined to beg and plead for forgiveness from his dearest friend, yet finds himself to be completely alone in the cell. He goes limp against the chains, staring off and yearning for closure that does not come.

* * *

The last one hurts the most.

Omega doesn’t know how long it’s been; for all he could tell it could have been hours or days, or years. They could have forgotten him and left him here to slowly die as the silver turned his blood black. He cycles through periods where the pain dulls, allows him to think in something resembling a rational manner, but then flares back up hotter and sharper, making him writhe against the chains. The pain had just begun to ebb when he hears it, the soft padding of bare feet on the stone floor.

“_ Oba _?” Omega blinks, believing his mind was playing a trick on him again by imagining sounds that were not there.

“_ Oba _ ?” The soft, little voice asks again, and he feels the gentle pressure of a tiny hand on his shoulder. “ _ Oba? Please, you there _?”

“Lux,” he breathes, turning to find himself looking into big lavender eyes framed by messy short brown hair. Tears filled his eyes and he tries to give his little sister a smile, desperately trying to bite back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm him.

“_ Oba, why sad? No sad, _” the little aether kit said, patting at his cheeks and making a face at him. He gives a shaky laugh, moving his head to nuzzle at her tiny hands. He hasn’t heard the little pet name she had always called him by in so very, very long, and it feels like a balm on his soul to do so again.

“I’m not sad,” he assures her. “I’ve missed you so much…”

“_ Leave, come home _ ,” Lux insists, pouting at him. “ _ We miss you _.”

“I can’t, I have to stay,” Omega laments, wanting nothing more than to do that in this very moment. “Our Unholy Father gave me this task, I must stay till he has allowed me to be released.”

“_ No _ !” She stamps a small foot on the floor, small stumpy tail quivering as she frowns. “ _ Want home now! Need Oba home, lonely with no Oba _.”

“Oh, Lux,” he sighs, closing his eyes as he fights away the tears again. He could only imagine how she felt, one of only two ghouls left alive from their tribe, being raised in a village of water ghouls. “I want to, I really want to but I…”

When he opens his eyes she was different. Her hair was still messy curls yet now bleached white, her eyes a shifting mix of lavender, blue, and gold. His breath caught in his throat, looking at the Lux he remembered leaving with Stanley, wailing and crying as her little arms reached out for him, the lake spirit holding her in his thick arms to keep her from following him.

“_ Oba… you left us _ ,” she sniffed, tears streaking down her gray skin as she blinked. “ _ We needed you, and you weren’t there _.”

“No, Lux, please,” Omega whispers, as his heart begins to break at the memory of it.

“_ I called for you, prayed for you to come save us but… _” The front of her dress falls to shreds, blood gushing from the wound that gouged a canyon across her small chest and down to her belly. She falls limp to the floor next to him, eyes dull and glassy, staring off at nothing.

“Lux! No, no please,” he sobbed, hand and arms jerking hard at the chains, needing to gather his sister into his arms. Needing to heal her, put her back together. But the metal holds him fast despite how hard he flails against it, screaming in anguish till he falls over from exhaustion, throat raw and bleeding from abuse.

* * *

It was the sharp clack of the lock turning in its mechanism that wakes him, eyes slowly blinking open as he leverages himself upright with a pained grunt. He expected to be greeted by red robes and a rat-like face but instead he saw black and green robes.

“Your time is served,” the second Emeritus states, voice clipped and angry. He produces a ring of keys similar to the one Copia had and picks an old one from amongst the others, kneeling to unlock the fetters around Omega’s ankles and tossing them away with a disgusted look.

“Thank Lucifer,” Omega breathes, sucking in a sharp breath as the manacles come loose, some of the burned flesh sticking to them and pulling at the scabs beneath them. “Didn’t expect you to come here, Papa,” he mumbles, closing his eyes as the band around his neck is unlocked and gingerly pulled away.

“Since when have we not been on a first name basis,” the retired antipope grumbles, placing a gentle hand on the injured ghoul’s shoulder.

“Gio, then. How come they didn’t send the rat to finish his work,” Omega snorts softly, his throat still sore and raw from screaming at some point in his imprisonment.

“He is, as I was told, busy with ‘work most important to the clergy’. Could mean he’s getting fucked by my idiot little brother for all I know or care,” Giovanni said tartly, rolling his eyes. He helps the big ghoul up, tsking sharply as he surveys the damage done by the silver.

Omega simply grunts in response, walking around a little till he felt like he could move his legs somewhat properly again before stumbling out of the cell. He’s glad to see his uniform waiting right where he had placed it before going into the cell. Giovanni picks the items up and hands them to him one by one to let the ghoul dress himself, knowing Omega well enough not to offer further help and damage the quintessence ghoul’s pride. Once again properly attired Giovanni gives Omega a curt nod and turns to leave, keeping his pace slow to match the ghoul’s.

“I still do not think this was necessary,” he growls, folding his arms over his chest as they wove their way back through the maze of halls.

“Your brother was right, though. I broke church law when I attacked Dewdrop,” Omega points out, “and the law must be upheld for everyone. We can’t decide to let one ghoul get a light sentence then another be punished harshly for the same offense. There must be equality at every level.”

“Yes, I know. Ugh, you sound just like Enzio. Seven days in silver must have addled your brain,” the second Emeritus grumps, though there is a hint of dark amusement in his tone. Omega barks a raspy laugh, though it fades as they ascend the stairs to the main levels of the church. Giovanni stays at Omega’s side all the way to his room, stern face making any siblings of sin or ghouls scurry away from them without any comments.

“Get some rest, I’ll go tell the kitchens to send you up something to eat. We know how bad silver is on your systems, though you took it better than most.” Giovanni comments, giving Omega an appraising look. Omega just lifts one shoulder in a half shrug then gives the older human a wry smile.

“I’m hardier than most, also older, so it could just be that,” he answers cryptically before nodding to Giovanni and stepping into his room, waiting a few moments after his door has been shut to let out a held breath and starting to peel off his clothes. He kicks the pile of them off to the side, limping into his bathroom and letting the human glamor dissolve. The burns were already healing, but the skin was still raw and blistered, some parts burned right through and the skin flaking off in bits. The black lines where the silver had started to leech into his blood stood out stark even against the dark lines of his tattoos, making him shudder in revulsion.

The shower he thought would help ended up making it worse, more skin peeling away and some of the blisters bursting, seeping discolored blood onto the tiles. But at least he was able to scrub some soap into his skin, ignoring any burning pains when it would get onto the burned flesh. By the time he’s done he feels bone tired, finding it to be a feat in and of itself to get out of the shower and toweled dry without passing out onto the tile floor.

True to his word, Giovanni had spoken to the kitchen staff and a tray of food sat on his desk, covered with a cloth. He pulls it away to find a hunk of fresh baked bread and a covered dish of hearty stew, smelling amazing as he had only been given the most basic of nutrition while in chains. It doesn’t last very long, he scarfs it down quick, cleaning the dish of any bits of sauce with the bread, sighing when it was all reduced to just a smattering of crumbs, wishing there was more. Finally he slumps over to his bed, falling to the sheets and staring up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come.

* * *

Rain was so nervous. He’d woken on the seventh day to anxiety eating at his stomach, fretting over the decision he’d made the night before: He was going to go see Omega and apologize for everything he’s put him through, then finally confess that he loves him. Two small, simple things. Eleven words total: ‘_ I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble, _ ’ and ‘ _ I love you _’. In the words that he’s heard Swiss say, easy peasy lemon squeezy.

_ Yeah, right. Who were you kidding… ‘Easy’ my ass. _

Rain presses his hands over his face and whines softly, eventually untangling himself from his mess of sheets and blankets and trudging into the bathroom. He takes longer than usual for his shower, rehearsing the lines softly under his breath over and over, hoping it would make them easier to say. Instead it only made his stomach knot tighter, making him feel nauseous as he dries off and puts on a clean uniform. He joins the other ghouls in the common room for breakfast, picking at his food till Zephyr nudged him in the side.

“You okay, puddle? You’re not eating your waffle,” she asked, looking at him worried. Rain can feel more eyes fall on him and squirms in his seat, the collective worry of the band ghouls feeling like a weighted blanket being draped over him.

“Uh, my, um... stomach just feels weird today,” he mumbled, staring down at his plate. “I’ll be fine for practice, though.”

“As long as you’re sure,” Aether cautions, Rain nodding hurriedly and trying to give them a smile to set them at ease.

Aether still hides a few snacks in his things as they head to the practice room, wanting to at least have them on hand should Rain start to flag.

* * *

Playing helped, it seemed. With a strum of his fingers against the strings of his bass it feels as if the tension melts away, his focus narrowing down onto his instrument. The whole practice went well, the cardinal making some changes here and there, giving some critique to Swiss and the ghoulettes on their vocals. They took a break for lunch and Rain had managed to forget his earlier anxiety and ate whatever his fellow ghouls put on his plate, even joining in on the idle conversation a little though still preferring to stay quiet and observe as he munched on his food.

They resumed practicing, though this time with the noted absence of Copia. Aether, as usual, takes his place in leading the ghouls, though this causes them all to become more lax in their discipline. Swiss tries to sing Zephyr’s lines in an exaggerated falsetto, making Mountain laugh and miss a beat, everything falling to pieces as most of the ghouls burst into a fit of giggles.

“Swiss,” Aether warns, his voice taking on that no-nonsense tone that the rest of the ghouls called his ‘Dad Voice.’ The fire ghoul grins and shrugs, strumming his guitar strings as the rest of the ghouls set back up then start the song over from the beginning. After a few more hours they’re all tired and worn out from the constant playing, the distractions become more and more common, making it harder to concentrate and keep the ghouls in line. Aether eventually gives up trying, throwing his hands up in the air as he declares that they’re done for the day. They all file out of the practice room, Swiss peeling off to go deliver a folder of papers to Copia’s office as ordered by Aether, as a kind of punishment as the rest head back to their rooms. They’re all munching on some sandwiches when Swiss returns, trotting over to snatch a sandwich and scarf half it down in three quick bites.

“Om eahh,” Swiss mumbles through a mouth full of sandwich, looking at Rain. The water ghoul chirps and tilts his head curiously, waiting for Swiss to swallow his mouthful of sandwich and speak clearly. The fire ghoul leans close, speaking so that he isn’t overheard by the other ghouls as they chatter around them.

“I saw Papa II walking with Omega in the halls, seems like he’s been released,” he informs Rain, having guessed what Rain’s plan was from the get go. “I’ll cover for you, if you want.”

“T-thanks, but… but I’ll take the responsibility myself,” Rain murmurs, giving Swiss a tremulous smile. Swiss nods, patting Rain on the back encouragingly. Rain finishes eating before slipping away, telling Zephyr and Mistral where he was going since they were still out in the common room rifling through a handful of magazines. The ghoulettes give him a smile and wish him luck, waving as he leaves their rooms.

The anxiety comes back in the hallway, twisting and writhing in his gut. Rain regrets eating the sandwich now, hugging his arms around himself tightly as he skitters down the halls. He finds the old ghoul’s quarters to seem mostly empty, though he can hear music from one room down the hall. He takes a deep breath, biting down on his lip hard for a moment before steeling his nerves and raising his fist, knocking on the door and waiting.

Silence.

Rain starts to fret a little, knocking again after waiting another moment. He holds his breath unknowingly, hands shaking as he waits, and waits, and waits.

Silence.

He knocks one last time, heart beating hard and fast in his chest, his insides pulled into knots. His shoulders sag as the silence stretches out, looking down at his feet and getting ready to turn away.

“...Come in.” The voice was soft, tired, barely able to be heard from the other side of the door, but Rain hears it loud and clear. His heart leaps and he gingerly lets himself inside, closing the door behind him softly and peering into the darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the low light.

“Omega,” he calls out softly, slowly walking forward, eyes casting about at the darkened patches of items in the old ghoul’s room, but unable to discern them without any light.

“Rain?” Omega grunts as he shifts, sitting up on his bed and blinking wearily at the water ghoul, as if he didn’t really believe that was who was there.

“Y-yeah. I, I heard you had been let go,” Rain murmured, eyes adjusted to the light enough to notice the bands of raw flesh around Omega’s neck, wrists, and ankles. He swallows hard, knowing that was his fault, guilt settling heavy in his gut.

“Oh...” Omega winces as he scrapes a wrist against the coarse top blanket. “Yeah, Just got back. Are… you sure you should be here?”

Rain is taken aback by the question, and the hesitancy with which Omega spoke to him with. “W-why…?”

“It just... seems that us together creates a problem,” the old ghoul sighs, remembering what the cardinal had asked of him. He would try and let Rain go as gently as possible, knowing it would be better for the younger ghoul anyways.

“Do you… want me to leave?” Rain’s voice is so small and soft; Omega could hear the sadness lurking beneath the surface. It twists something inside him and he closes his eyes, breathing evenly before answering.

“...No,” he whispers, reaching out and gently taking Rain’s hand, squeezing it lightly. “Thank you for… for coming.”

Rain’s heart had been in his throat, almost certain Omega would turn him away, and he nearly collapses with elation when he doesn’t. The water ghoul can’t help but smile broadly at him, though it falters as he gets a closer look at Omega’s blistered wrist when he takes hold of Rain’s hand.

“H-here, let me help, please,” Rain asks, trilling softly as he bends over to get a closer look at the wound. Omega was silent for a long moment before hesitantly nodding, Rain gently pulling away and going to the bathroom and pulling out the ever present med kit that was kept under the sink in every ghoul’s room. His past week had taught him pretty well how to deal with wounds and tie bandages, and thankfully it seemed that Omega’s were not infected and in need of real treatment.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Rain chirps as he spreads ointment over the blisters with careful fingers.

“Nothing to apologize for,” Omega says, watching Rain tiredly as the young ghoul starts winding bandages around his left wrist, making sure to not make them too tight but also not too loose.

“No, there is,” Rain sighs, shaking his head and starting on the other wrist. “If, if I had taken the time and thought things through more none of… of _ this _ would have happened.”

“It’s not your fault. If anything, it was mine,” Omega insists. “I’d gone by to see you before I knew you were in heat. Dewdrop was very.. _ Assertive _, that I not see you at all. I should have taken that as warning enough and yet…”

“I… should have dealt with Dewdrop sooner. When he first marked me, instead of just ignoring it,” Rain admits, tying the second bandage carefully.

“He’s marked you before?” Omega was surprised, but not in a good way. Something primitive and possessive rears its ugly head inside him, wanting to go and break the small fire ghoul for daring to touch Rain.

“Um, yeah…” Rain focuses intently on fixing up Omega’s ankles, cheeks flushed hot and unable to look up at him. “He was angry at being alone and I t-thought I’d be nice and offer to spend time with him and one thing lead to another and I thought it was just some casual sex but it went too far and I didn’t expect it to turn into some weird dominance thing especially since he seemed to just treat me like a disposable toy and left right after fucking me without getting me off in return and I should have said something sooner but everything was so tiring and I didn’t know how to do it and him seeing his marks all over me made him calm down for awhile and it seemed like not such a bad thing at first but…” Rain finally slaps a hand over his mouth to stop babbling, eyes wide in shock. He was so embarrassed at himself for just going on and on as if the floodgates had been opened, suddenly finding himself spilling his guts out to the poor quintessence ghoul.

“Oh, Rain,” Omega consoled, “None of that was your fault. It’s alright, don’t worry about any of it, okay?”

Rain takes a handful of deep breaths, closing his eyes for a moment before nodding silently. He stands up and examines Omega’s neck with delicate fingers, avoiding looking directly at his face and eyes the whole time he spreads the ointment on and gently does up the bandages. When he pulls back he finally looks into Omega’s eyes, noting how tired they seemed and starts packing up the first aid kit, replacing it back in its place under the bathroom skin. 

“You need to get some sleep,” Rain murmurs, helping settle the quintessence ghoul back against the pillows and getting the sheets out from under him to pull them over. Rain chews his bottom lip as he tries to gather the courage to ask to stay, not wanting to leave him while he was so injured.

“You can stay,” Omega murmurs, patting the space next to him as he shifts onto his side to get comfortable. Rain wastes no time and kicks off his shoes then strips down to his underwear, folding his uniform over the back of a nearby chair before crawling onto the bed. He carefully maneuvers into the spot Omega had indicated, careful not to prod any of his bandaged limbs as he settles down against him. Thick arms snake around him and pull Rain close, Omega sighing softly.

“Nice having someone to hold,” he mumbled, voice thick from exhaustion. “Warm, soft…” 

“Omega? I…” Rain breathes, licking his lips and looking up at the big ghoul as he finally took this last chance, “I love you.”

Omega looks down at him with a sleepy expression and smiles softly, humming and pulling him close. Rain waits for a reply, be it a rejection or affirmation, but nothing comes. Instead a soft snore comes from him, indicating he’d fallen right to sleep. Rain sighs and shifts to press himself closer, drifting off to sleep soon after.

* * *

_ “Ulan, here,” his mother clucks at him, handing him a ceramic pot filled with a green speckled cream that smelled of mint and aloe. He chirps curiously and follows her into the dark room, watching with wide eyes as she croons softly to a huge figure lying on the bed. There’s a series of grunts and pained noises as the figure shifts onto his side, his mother gently pulling the sheets down and peeling away the swath of bandages on his back. _

_ “Ulan,” his mother calls to him softly, beckoning him over. His eyes snap to the ghoul’s back, mouth falling open to an ‘o’, as he takes in the wide breadth of muscles, the gray skin cracked and blistered and bleeding from burns. Yet underneath that he could still clearly make out the black lines of tattoos, covering the majority of his back and shoulders in curving geometric lines and shapes. He’d never seen anything like it in his entire life, mesmerized by the inked skin. _

_ “Shh, Chiron. Be still,” his mother chides as the ghoul-- Chiron--mumbled something softly when she begins to spread the ointment over the blistered skin. _

_ “Mumma? Can I,” he asks, tugging gently at his mother’s skirt. She pauses then nods, pulling him closer and setting the pot on the floor beside him. _

_ “Here, Ulan. Like this… be gentle now, he’s hurt bad,” she instructs, moving his tiny hand gently with her own. “There you go, just like that, good boy.” _

_ Ulan smiles brightly at her, glad he was finally able to help in some way. _

* * *

It was rare for Rain to have that dream; normally he dreamt of the lake and the burning, sanctified waters, of screams and agony and too-bright flashes of halos burning with holy light. This one was a hazier memory, but one he enjoyed much more. It was soft and happy, one of the few memories he had of the ghoul that had risked his own life to pull him from an excruciating death and had unknowingly captured Rain’s little heart from that day forward. He’d taken over his mother’s job of rubbing the cool salve on his burnt skin, sometimes his fingers absently tracing down the sweeping paths of the tattoos. Rain has clung to these few snippets of memory carefully, hoarding every little detail he could about this ghoul that he possibly could, as he had left once he was healed up and able to walk.

They hadn’t seen him since.

Rain trills softly and snuggles further into the warmth surrounding him, the dream slipping away slowly despite how he claws desperately at it. Unfortunately, like every time it fades and he blearily opens his eyes, face pressed into a chest of dark gray skin. There’s dark swaths of tattooed skin running across the chest and shoulders, a small round symbol on the top near the collarbone, and Rain assumes he’s fallen into another dream.

“Chiron,” he purred sleepily, nuzzling into the ghoul’s chest, fingers tracing the familiar lines lovingly.

“Mmm, yeah,” a deep, sleepy voice answers him, arms tightening around him a little before relaxing. Rain blinks, pulling away and pushing himself up on one arm, looking up into the familiar face next to him.

“Chiron?” Rain asked again, softly. His pulse began to race as his mind woke, frantically piecing things together.

“I’m here,” Omega murmurs, opening his eyes and looking straight at Rain. Rain’s heart jerks in his chest, eyes going wide and suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

“Ulan, shhh, it’s alright,” Omega croons, pushing himself up and pulling Rain close as the water ghoul makes a series of soft, strangled noises.

“Y-you… Omega, you’re,” Rain stammers, swallowing hard and trembling in Omega’s grasp.

“Yeah, it’s me. Chiron is Omega, Omega is Chiron,” the quintessence ghoul finally admits, feeling as if one of many invisible weights has been lifted from his shoulders.

“How… How long have you…?”

“Since the lake,” Omega says, pulling back slowly. “When you said your grandfather’s name.”

Rain gives another strangled chirp, his shoulders twitching hard. Omega expects that he’d push him away, rage at him for keeping it a secret for so long, but instead Rain throws his arms around Omega’s neck and hugged him tight, making a series of bright, happy noises.

“I… I’ve missed you so much! I can’t believe...!” Rain chirps, beaming at him. “You’ve always been looking after me!” Omega chuckles softly and ruffles Rain’s hair, making him chirp again and shake his head.

“Silly ghoul,” Omega laughs, glad that Rain wasn’t angry or upset with him. Then Rain pulls away from him, looking at him with big blue and the softest expression he’s ever seen.

“Chiron… Omega… I… I love you,” Rain professed, looking so unbearably hopeful and fragile. It makes Omega’s heart ache, unable to fathom how after everything they had been through, Rain still was able to confess it.

“I… I love you too,” Omega says, softly, but he swallows thickly and continues on. “But… you need someone else, Rain.”

“W-what? Why?” Rain’s face falls, immediately looking distressed.

“You… you deserve so much better than me,” Omega sighs, shaking his head sadly. “I’m old and broken… I was shunned by my own tribe, and unable to save any but one when they needed me most…” The quintessence ghoul lets him head all forward, staring down at the rumpled sheets beneath them.

“I don’t care about any of that,” Rain stated firmly. “Aether tried to warn me away… said you’d done really horrible things and… and I told him I didn’t care about any of that. You have always been kind and nurturing and… and _ there _ for me… ever since I was little and… and I don’t care if you’re old or terrible or whatever they say. I always have, and always will, love you.”

Omega stares at the younger ghoul, stunned into silence by the assertiveness he spoke with. Rain’s eyes glittered brightly in the morning light that filtered through small gaps in the window blinds, chest rising and falling with each breath he took. The want for the water ghoul that has burned inside him flaring up bright and hot, threatening to turn him to ash and he tries one last time to push him away gently.

“No,” Omega says softly, giving a small shake of his head. “That’s the me from your dreams you’ve fallen in love with, the me that saved you as a kit… not… not the real me.”

“I love both, because they are you,” Rain insists. “I loved Chiron for my entire life, waited desperately to see him again and confess how much he meant to me. But I love you as Omega too, separately from Chiron because I only just now made the connection…” Rain licks his lips and barrels on, grasping at Omega’s hands and holding them tight. “You, you’ve been the one ghoul that’s kept me going, that helped me when most others would leave me behind. I’ve dreamed of you, and wanted you with me so much… Hearing your voice when on tour kept me from losing my mind, and… and having you with me d-during the heat… I… I...”

And just like that Omega gives up, resolve burned entirely away.

“Rain,” Omega breathes, reaching up and grasping his face gently, leaning forward to slot their mouths together in a heated kiss. Rain melts into him with a soft sound, hands grasping at strong, wide shoulders as he’s kissed breathless.

“I love you,” gasps the quintessence ghoul when they part for air, his hands migrating down to rest on Rain’s slim hips, “love you so damn much.” Rain trills and wraps his arms tenderly around Omega’s neck, one hand cupping the back of his head while running his fingers of the other across the wide stretch of his upper back. After a few more long moments of kissing Omega gently pulls Rain down to the mattress with him, wrapping his arms around the thinner ghoul and snuggling up against him.

“My Rain,” Omega sighs happily, kissing the back of Rain’s neck as he smiles.

“My Omega,” Rain chirps, bringing one of the quintessence ghoul’s hands up and pressing a kiss to the back then pressing it over his heart. The two ghoul shift close, tails twining together between them, filled finally with the soft, hopeful warmth of love. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 54,755 words later, and here we are. I hope you all have enjoyed this rarepair as much as I have, and for those who want more... you are in luck! I'm currently have in the works some more for this au I've written! It has inspired me to do a stupid amount of world building, and I just want to throw it at everyone.
> 
> Interestingly enough, this was not the original ending I had in mind. It was going to be completely different, throwing in another new character at the very end... Ending the same as it began, with a summoning. But, over time it just seemed to be too much to add in once I hit the 30,000 word mark and really noticed that I had so much else to flesh out, so I cut it from the drafts I wrote. But, perhaps it will come back, in a future piece... >:3
> 
> Thank you again everyone, for all the help, encouragement, and love. This is a wonderful fandom, and I am so happy to be a part of it 💙💙💙💙💙


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